In His Own Hell
by alightintheshadows
Summary: A simple mine inspection goes horribly wrong when Mustang and Ed are captured by Drachman spies. With tension rising between Amestris and Drachma, how far will the Drachmans go to get two of the most powerful state alchemists in their ranks? Rated T just to be safe. Parental!RoyEd.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! Here is a story that I thought of and decided to make it a reality! I'm not entirely sure how many chapters it will be at this point, but I guess we'll see! I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **In this story, Mustang had just been transferred to Central, and Hughes is still alive. There will definitely be some Parental!RoyEd, but it will not be too apparent at the beginning.**

 **I unfortunately do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Ed sighed and looked out the window of the train, trying not to look at the person he was stuck on this train with. That didn't last long.

"Pouting won't make the train move any faster, Fullmetal."

Ed glared at his superior. He chose to remain silent. A snarky retort would only give the Colonel the satisfaction of getting a rise out of him. He thought back to the previous day, which led him to his current predicament of being stuck on a train with Colonel Bastard.

 _ ***flashback***_

 _Ed stormed into the office like a mini hurricane._

" _This better be important, Colonel. Al and I are leaving to pursue a possible lead out west and our train leaves tomorrow."_

 _Mustang sighed and put down his pen._

" _There's a small town called Kanon. It's around thirty miles east from South City. There's a mine there that needs to be inspected," he began._

" _Okay, what does this have to do with me?" the young alchemist asked._

" _The Fuhrer called me in personally. He wants both of us to go to Kanon and inspect the mine. He says the people there are anti-military and he isn't comfortable just sending in one alchemist to do the inspection. Al can't go either. Since the town hates the military, he fears that a suit of armor could be seen as a threat by the people. The inspection will already be difficult enough as it is."_

 _Mustang watched with an amused expression as Ed realized what this would mean._

" _So let me get this straight," Ed started in an eerily calm manner, "I have to go to a small town to inspect a mine...with you of all people."_

" _Yes," came Mustang's smooth reply._

" _How long will this take?"_

" _About three or four days, figuring in travel time. If you want, you can head out west as soon as we're done with the inspection and meet up with Al."_

 _Ed just nodded, although his eye was twitching slightly._

" _When do we leave?" he asked._

" _The train departs at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."_

 _Ed nodded again while Mustang raised an eyebrow at him, as if he was expecting some sort of outburst. Ed turned on his heel and exited the office. After calmly closing the door, he let out a long string of curses that made the rest of Mustang's team cringe. He could have sworn he heard Mustang chuckling in his office, but he was too shocked and outraged to know for sure._

 _ ***end flashback***_

As much as Ed didn't want to go on this mission with Mustang, he supposed it could be worse. At least Mustang was allowing him to meet up with Al instead of making him return to Central. However, he was not looking forward to going to an anti-military town.

Mustang was reviewing the file with the information concerning the mine he and Ed were to inspect. Upon hearing a yawn, he glanced at his subordinate.

"Tired, Fullmetal?" he asked.

"A little," Ed mumbled.

The young Colonel glanced at his pocket watch.

"We still have around five hours before we arrive in Kanon. Why don't you get some rest?"

Ed sighed as he turned sideways in his seat and curled in on himself. They were only three hours into their eight hour train ride. A little sleep couldn't hurt.

"I think that's the first good idea you've ever had, Colonel," he said with a tired smirk.

Mustang rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the file. Despite knowing everything he possibly could about the mission, he felt like there was something he was missing. Why the Fuhrer would order him and Fullmetal specifically for this assignment, he would never know. He understood that there were Amestrians that absolutely despised the military, but most of them had enough common sense not to mess with a state alchemist. Those few who did were quickly put in their place.

He sighed and closed the file. He looked at Ed when he stirred a bit in his sleep and couldn't help but smile. Ed only looked his age when he was sleeping, which was something the Colonel didn't see him do very often. For a brief moment, he almost forgot that he was looking at the Fullmetal Alchemist. The peaceful look on Ed's face suddenly disappeared. His brow creased with worry.

"No," the kid mumbled in his sleep, "He's my brother."

Mustang deduced that Ed must be having a nightmare. He reached over and shook Ed's shoulder.

"Fullmetal," he said, trying to get the kid to wake up.

Ed bolted upright immediately with a gasp escaping his lips. Slightly startled by the sudden movement, Mustang fell back into his seat.

"Are you okay, Fullmetal?" he asked.

Ed calmed his breathing before answering.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Ed scooted closer to the window and just stared. Mustang had considered asking his subordinate if he wanted to talk, but part of him knew that he wouldn't. If the fifteen-year-old hadn't opened up to him after three years under his command, he probably wouldn't now. The two just remained silent for the rest of the train ride.

The train halted to a stop. The Colonel let out a groan as he stood up and stretched.

"Come on, old man. This mine won't inspect itself," Ed said with a smirk as he grabbed his suitcase.

Mustang glared at his subordinate.

"I'm not even thirty, so I'm not old. I'd be careful when you try to insult me. Remember you are stuck with me for the next couple of days, you little brat."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU COULD SQUISH HIM UNDER YOUR FOOT?" Ed roared as Mustang pushed him off the train.

"That would be you. We're supposed to be meeting the mayor…." Mustang trailed off as he saw a brown-haired man not too much older than himself approaching him.

"Ah, you must be Colonel Mustang! I'm Michael Rowan, the mayor of this lovely town," the mayor said with pure joy as he shook Mustang's hand. He turned to Ed and shook his hand as well. "And you must be Major Elric. I was told to be expecting you two. Welcome to Kanon! The inn that you two will be staying at is right across the street. You both can drop off your suitcases. Since it's so late, I thought I would just show you where the mine is. You all can return to the inn to rest and start the inspection tomorrow morning."

Before either alchemist could say a word, Michael guided them across the street to the inn.

"Hello, Dahlia! This is Colonel Mustang and Major Elric, the two state alchemists the military sent to inspect the mine," the overly enthusiastic mayor said as he entered the inn.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both!" the elderly innkeeper greeted the two newcomers. Her eyes widened when she got a better look at Ed. "Oh my! You're a bit young to be in the military, aren't you?"

"Yeah, just a bit," Ed chuckled, a little unsettled by the lack of hostility that he was expecting.

"Well you think you've seen it all when you get to be my age, but I guess not! Here is the key to your room! It's down the hall and the last room on the right!" she said as she handed Mustang the key.

"Thank you, ma'am. It was a pleasure to meet you," Mustang responded with his usual charming smile as he took the key.

He and Ed grabbed their suitcases and made their way down the hall to their room. Once they entered and the door shut, they quickly turned to look at each other.

"I thought the people of this town hated the military," Ed said in a hushed tone.

"That's what the Fuhrer told me. I guess he was wrong?" Mustang said with a question at the end, but that wasn't even a possibility.

Fuhrer King Bradley was never wrong. He always seemed to know everything.

"Unless Dahlia and the mayor are just a few of the ones that don't," Ed suggested.

The two met back up with the mayor and headed toward the mine, which was just under a mile outside of the town. Since the two alchemists now knew where the mine was, the mayor left them to eat and get their rest. As they walked through the town to the diner the mayor suggested for them to eat at, they were surprisingly not met with glares from the other citizens. Some of them were even friendly enough to smile and wave. This just further unsettled the two alchemists.

"Why would the Fuhrer lie about the people hating the military?" Ed asked his superior while they ate.

Mustang just shook his head and shrugged.

"I don't know, Fullmetal. At least our stay here will be more pleasant than we were expecting."

The Colonel really hated not knowing why the Fuhrer lied to him. He considered the possibility that Bradley just didn't want to put up with any objections from him about working with Fullmetal, but it wouldn't have mattered if he had anyway since he had to follow the Fuhrer's orders no matter what, and there were definitely worse things than working with Ed. He was a very skilled alchemist after all. This ate at Mustang all through dinner and even the short walk back to the inn.

Once the two had arrived to their room for the evening, Fullmetal took off his shoes and jacket and collapsed onto the bed. Mustang looked at his young subordinate sprawled out on the bed and chuckled. He figured the kid was just tired after the long day of traveling, especially considering he was as well. After making a quick call to check in with Hawkeye as he had promised her before they left, he turned off the lamp in their room and crawled into bed himself, not looking forward to another long day tomorrow.

 ***break***

 _It was dimly lit in the mine, but he had no trouble seeing his predicament. He was surrounded by four men, and they were quickly closing in on him. He desperately looked around for the Colonel, but couldn't find him. Alchemy would be his only way out of this. He clapped and was about to perform a transmutation when a voice stopped him._

" _I wouldn't do that if I were you, Edward Elric," a voice chuckled._

 _The men closing in on him paused, looking in the direction the voice had come from with smirks on their faces. Ed looked as well, and his eyes widened at the sight before him._

 _Mustang was on his knees. Two men were restraining his arms, grasping his hands so the Flame Alchemist couldn't snap. The one who spoke to Ed was behind Mustang, keeping him in a tight headlock. Ed made eye contact with his superior. Fear flared through him when Mustang didn't look as calm and collected as he usually did. His face was starting to turn red from not being able to breathe._

" _Cooperate," the same man demanded, "Or I'll snap the Colonel's neck."_

 _Ed was definitely panicked at this point. He looked back to Mustang._

" _Run!" he managed to choke out._

 _For once, Ed actually followed orders. However, he only made it a few steps when he heard a sickening crack. He looked over his shoulder and saw his superior slumped over, dead._

"NO!" Ed screamed.

He sat up and ran his hands through his hair, finding it to be soaked with sweat. The lamp in the room switched on. He looked to find Mustang staring at him with a tired, but concerned gaze.

"Fullmetal?" he slurred, not completely awake yet, "Is something wrong?"

Ed took in a few shaky breaths before he responded.

"It was just a dream," he said, not entirely sure if he was just trying to convince himself or if he was answering Mustang's question. "It was just...a dream."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

Shocked, Ed looked at the Colonel. It was already bad enough that Mustang saw him having a nightmare during their train ride, but he couldn't help but feel a little grateful for the offer. However, there was no way that he would admit to Mustang that he had a nightmare about him dying.

"No."

Mustang just shrugged and looked at the clock. It was just after seven. It was almost time for the two alchemists to get up anyway.

"We need to be up soon anyway. Why don't we just go ahead and get started on the inspection?" he suggested.

Ed nodded and got out of bed. The inspection would hopefully get his mind off his nightmare. The two got ready in silence. They stopped by the diner and ate a quick breakfast before heading out to the mine. The walk to the mine was also silent. Mustang was about to walk right on in when Ed grabbed his arm.

"Colonel, you wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?" he asked.

Ed may not always get along with his superior, but that certainly didn't mean he wanted the man dead. Mustang almost staggered back at the question. Never once would he have thought Fullmetal would show any concern for him. He cleared his throat before answering him.

"Of course not…." he trailed off when he had a sudden realization as to why Ed asked. "Does this have to do with your nightmare?"

Ed refused to meet his gaze. The Colonel put a hand on his shoulder, knowing that the sudden contact would cause Ed to look up at him.

"I won't let anything happen to me. Besides, Hawkeye would kill me if I died," he tried to joke.

It seemed to work. Ed visibly relaxed a bit. The two entered the mine to begin the inspection. When they wandered deeper into the mine and couldn't see due to the lack of sunlight, the Colonel snapped and lit the torches that were lining the walls of the mine.

"Looks like you're not completely useless after all, Colonel Sparky."

Mustang met him with a glare at the insult, and they went back to the inspection. A crash further into the mine grabbed their attention. No one was supposed to be in the mine aside from the two alchemists. Mustang and Ed looked to each other. Ed transmuted his automail arm into a blade while the Colonel pulled his ignition gloves on both hands. They quietly made their way further into the mine. Both nearly jumped when a rat scurried past them. Looking where the rat came from, they saw what appeared to be a broken bottle.

Ed sighed in relief and transmuted his blade back to normal. Mustang chuckled softly, not wanting to believe it was just a rat that startled him. The duo turned around and were met with four figures dressed in black, blocking their way back to the mine entrance. Quiet shuffling was heard behind them. Before either of them could react, they were each tackled to the ground by a black-clad assailant. The other four moved in to assist in restraining Ed and Mustang. Ed was a skilled fighter, so he easily got his assailant off him. Unfortunately for him, there were others still hiding deeper in the mine and he found himself surrounded. He clapped and transmuted his arm, ready for the fight.

Mustang was also skilled in combat, but whoever was attacking them knew exactly who they were dealing with. Immediately after freeing himself from the one that tackled him to the ground, two sets of hands grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet. Strong hands clasped around his own, keeping them apart and preventing him from snapping. He struggled against the two holding him, but he realized just how strong these two were when they seemed to have no trouble keeping their grip on him. He saw Fullmetal fighting off his various attackers, and he seemed to be holding his own. He hoped the kid could fight his way out and escape, but there were so many of them and only one of him.

"It's so nice to formally meet you, Roy Mustang."

Mustang almost didn't hear the voice. It was quiet compared to the ruckus Fullmetal was causing with his assailants. The only thing that caught his attention was the presence of a slight accent, but he couldn't remember where he heard it before. The two holding him turned him to face the speaker. A man a few inches taller than himself approached him, his long, black hair swaying back and forth as he walked. The man looked like Kimbley almost, just about ten years older. Mustang guessed that this man was the leader of their assailants. He would have responded, but he couldn't help but look back to his subordinate. Two hands grabbed his face and he was forced to look the man in the eyes as he spoke.

"It's so nice of you and your subordinate to finally join us. We have been watching you both for quite some time now."

"What do you want with us?" Mustang growled as he tried to pull away from the man's grip on his face, but that grip held firm.

Denying to give the Colonel an answer, the leader looked over at Ed fighting with his men and sighed. A few of the attackers were unconscious and four more went to close in on the young alchemist, who looked like he wasn't about to give up anytime soon.

"I knew your subordinate was feisty, Colonel, but this is a bit ridiculous," he grumbled as he moved behind Mustang, obviously frustrated with his men.

He knew that he only had one option to get the Fullmetal Alchemist to stop fighting. He kicked the back of Mustang's knees out from under him and caught him in a headlock before he could hit the ground, successfully cutting off his air supply. Seeing that Ed was about to engage in combat yet again, he decided that he needed to intervene.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Edward Elric," his voice bellowed throughout the mine.

Ed completely froze when he heard the voice. A look of horror crossed his face when he saw Mustang's position.

"Cooperate," Ed heard the leader demand, just as he had in his dream, "Or I'll snap the Colonel's neck."

Mustang desperately tried to tell Ed to run for it, but the arm around his throat tightened, causing the words to get caught in his throat. Ed seemed to get the message, but chose to ignore it. He transmuted his arm back to normal, and Mustang's eyes widened.

"No...Full…metal..." he managed to choke out, but it was too late.

Two men grabbed Ed's automail arm while only one grabbed his flesh arm. He was dragged over to Mustang. The leader of the group released Mustang from the headlock to stand in front of the two alchemists. The Colonel coughed as he took in big gulps of air.

"Your cooperation is appreciated, Fullmetal Alchemist. Unfortunately that might not last long seeing as I wasn't completely honest with you. We need you both alive for the time being."

At this, Ed had a look of pure rage on his face. The leader chuckled.

"If it's any consolation, it was very noble of you to give yourself up to save your superior. I found it quite touching," he continued as he approached the young alchemist.

Mustang's eyes widened as he realized where the accent was from. Hearing the man talk more allowed him to figure it out.

"You all are from Drachma."

"You would be right, Colonel," the man said as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ed shouted, eyeing the syringe and struggling against those holding him.

"We need to move you two. You both will put up a fight, and that will waste time that we don't have," the leader answered.

He tilted Ed's head to the side and plunged the syringe into his neck. Ed's struggles ceased almost immediately and he slumped in his attacker's arms. Once Ed was unconscious, he approached the Colonel and took another syringe out of his pocket.

"I know you have several questions," he said with a sinister smile as he inserted the syringe into Mustang's neck, "I will give you some answers in due time."

Mustang's knees buckled as the drug took effect. The last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was a voice whispering in his ear.

"You and your little subordinate will be completely broken by the time I'm done with you."

 **Well there's the first chapter! I hope you all liked it! Let me know what you all think. I'll update as soon as I can, but I'm not entirely sure when that will be. I hope soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Here is the next chapter for this story. Thank you so much for the great responses to this story! I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter!**

 **I unfortunately do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Mustang groaned as he began to return to consciousness. He registered a dull ache in his arms. Opening his eyes, he lifted his head off his chest and looked up to find his wrists in manacles and raised above his head. Chains ran from the manacles clamped around his wrists to a hook that kept him suspended a couple of inches off the ground, which definitely explained why his arms hurt. Another chain ran from the hook, through a pulley, then finally ending at a mechanism that would allow the manacles to be raised or lowered.

"Well they were definitely expecting us," Mustang grumbled to himself.

He had been stripped of his military jacket, so there wasn't much to fend himself off from the cold. After trying to move his legs, he realized that they had been bound as well. He looked around the room, staring at the strange markings on the walls, ceiling, the floor, and even the door to his left. His eyes settled on the unconscious alchemist across from him, who was in the exact same position as he was.

Ed was only in his black tank top, and Mustang could see that he was unconsciously shivering. He had mixed emotions when he saw his subordinate. He was angry at the kid for giving himself up, but also amazed that he would give himself up to save his life. Maybe the anger wasn't so much directed at Ed as it was at himself for getting caught so easily. Well, whatever the reason was, he was still extremely pissed. He saw that the Drachmans hadn't removed Ed's automail and felt relieved, but also concerned. If they had been watching the two alchemists as long as they said they had, they would know for sure that Ed would still be able to perform alchemy, especially considering the fact that his palms were almost touching as they were.

Mustang saw Ed starting to shift around a bit. He knew the drug must be wearing off.

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, trying to get the kid to fully wake up.

It seemed to work when Ed raised his head off his chest and opened his eyes to look at Mustang. It looked like that small movement had taken away any energy that the kid had. Even though his eyes were open, they were already starting to droop shut.

"What do you want, Colonel Bastard?" he groaned.

Mustang resisted the urge to reprimand Ed for the insult, understanding that Ed wasn't fully aware of where he was or what was happening. Besides, he already had other things to scold him about. The kid's head already started falling back toward his chest, but it suddenly snapped back up and his eyes were wide.

"We were ambushed!" he gasped as he seemed to realize the situation he was currently in.

Mustang nodded. Ed looked around the room they were in, then up at his bound hands. He smirked when he saw them practically touching.

"They really shouldn't have let me keep my automail," he chuckled.

He clapped his hands and grabbed the chains so he could break them, but nothing happened. Mustang got a bad feeling when he saw the panicked look on Ed's face after his alchemy didn't work.

"What the hell?" the young alchemist asked aloud.

He clapped and tried again only to be met with the same result. Ed groaned in frustration when he realized that their captors must have left his automail arm because they knew he wouldn't be able to use alchemy. He looked back to Mustang when he spoke.

"That must be what the strange markings are for," the Colonel remarked with a cold expression on his face, "It has to be some sort of array to prevent the performance of alchemy."

Ed looked away from his superior. He could tell that Mustang was pissed at him and was mentally preparing for the tongue-lashing that he knew he was going to receive.

"Why the hell did you give yourself up?" Mustang yelled. "You should have ran while you had the chance, then only one of us would be in this mess!"

"I thought they were going to kill you!" Ed fired back.

He met Mustang's eyes. Pure rage seemed to burn in them, and it honestly scared him. Ed had never actually seen his superior truly angry at anything. He made a mental note to never piss Mustang off again should they come out of this.

"I'm your superior, Fullmetal. You're not supposed to be concerned about me. You could have easily been killed if they didn't need us alive, and there was no way you could have known they wouldn't kill you. Do you have a death wish? Did you even consider about what that would have done to your brother?"

Ed said nothing as Mustang continued. His voice seemed to get louder, which Ed didn't think was possible.

"What about the Rockbells? Did you consider how they would feel if you died? You've got people out there that are counting on you, Fullmetal!"

"And you've got an entire nation counting on you, Mustang!"

The Colonel was shocked by Ed's outburst. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as he was at a loss for words. Ed looked amused.

"I am well aware of the fact that you want to become Fuhrer one day," he explained.

"How do you know that?" Mustang asked, his eyes narrowing at his subordinate.

He had never actually told Ed about him wanting to be Fuhrer. Honestly, he didn't think the kid would even care. Before Ed got to answer him, the door in their room swung open. The same long, black-haired man sauntered into the room with a chilling smile on his face.

"Considering all of the yelling I heard, I'd say you two are fully awake now."

The two alchemists didn't say a word.

"I'm sure you two have some questions, so feel free to ask away. If it refers to anything that I am at liberty to share with you, I will answer it."

Ed glanced at Mustang. From the look his superior gave him, he figured he should stay quiet for now. Mustang cleared his throat.

"What's your name? Where are the others from the mine?" he asked.

"You can call me Vincent. The others that helped me apprehend you are scattered throughout our base here. Don't worry, they'll join us later."

"Why are there Drachmans this far south? I figured any Drachmans that crossed the border would remain up north."

"Well some of us are up north, but no one would guess that any Drachman spies would venture this far south into Amestris. It's the perfect place for us to hide," Vincent chuckled as he continued, "But don't be fooled. While the majority of us are here, we have spies in the east and west, as well as Central. That's how we were able to keep tabs on you two."

Mustang's eyes widened. He had heard that a couple of Drachman spies had infiltrated Amestris, but he didn't know that this many had and were in every nook and cranny of the country. This wasn't good.

"Is Drachma planning on going to war with Amestris?" he asked.

Vincent nodded.

"I'm sure you both are aware that there has always been tension between our two nations. That will escalate to an all out war within the next couple years by my guess, especially since my superiors went ahead and gave me the orders for your capture."

Mustang hesitated before his next question, already dreading the answer.

"What do you want with us?"

Vincent's eyes lit up and he had a joyful smile on his face.

"I'm so glad you asked!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

Mustang and Ed shared a surprised look, both wondering if Vincent was completely off his rocker. Vincent fully turned to face Mustang.

"Ever since the Eastern Rebellion, we've been watching you, Roy Mustang. At the time, you were the most powerful state alchemist. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of Ishvalans completely slaughtered by just you. You've only grown stronger during your time in the military," Vincent paused as he approached even closer to Mustang, "We need a human weapon like you in our ranks, especially since we are going to war with Amestris."

"Why now? Why didn't you just take me after the war?" Mustang asked.

"You were rising through the ranks at a very fast rate. You're the youngest Colonel in the Amestrian military. Until we were certain that we were going to war, we decided to just keep an eye on you. That was a good call, considering how much more information you now have on the military that would benefit us. During that time, you also managed to recruit the youngest state alchemist in history."

Vincent turned from Mustang and walked over to Ed.

"A kid that can transmute without a circle. That's something you don't see everyday," he commented as he grabbed Ed's face and forced the boy to look him in the eyes. "Do you understand your potential? You could be the greatest human weapon that anyone's ever seen! I think you could even surpass the Colonel. Can you imagine transmuting the ground into spikes, impaling everyone that opposes you? Can you imagine making entire buildings collapse, crushing anyone inside to death with just a clap?"

"You're sick!" Ed growled as he yanked his face out of Vincent's grasp.

Vincent laughed at Ed's reaction.

"You know what the best part is, Edward? We don't even need your cooperation. Whether you want to or not, you will be one of our human weapons. The only thing we need is for you to be alive and breathing."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Ed demanded.

"You'll find out later, young alchemist," said as he looked back to Mustang, "Unfortunately, Colonel, we do need your cooperation. I'm assuming you remember my warning from back in the mine."

Of course Mustang remembered. How could he forget?

" _You and your little subordinate will be completely broken by the time I'm done with you."_

He nodded. Vincent continued.

"That can be avoided, but I have a feeling it won't be. I'm going to ask anyway. Will you, Roy Mustang, join us in the Drachman military?"

"No," came Mustang's expected reply.

"Are you sure? You don't fully have to cooperate yet. I know that this is a lot to process for the moment. You could just simply start by telling me anything you know about the Fuhrer and anything the military knows about Drachma."

Mustang gave Vincent an incredulous look. Vincent talked as if they were old friends catching up, not trying to convince a captive to betray his country. The ever present smile on his face was just unsettling.

"My answer remains the same, but I would like to thank you for your generous offer," Mustang replied sarcastically.

Vincent sighed and shook his head. He approached Mustang yet again, pulling a knife out of his pocket. Ed felt a bit of pride for his commanding officer when he didn't even flinch and looked Vincent straight in the eye when he traced around Mustang's face with the knife. At that moment, he realized that Mustang wasn't going to give in, no matter what Vincent did to torture him.

"You're quite the stubborn one, Mustang. However, will your defiant attitude remain after you watch your subordinate get tortured mercilessly?"

The Colonel's composure slipped a bit, and that did not go unnoticed by Vincent.

"You didn't actually think I would have you tortured, did you? Well, not physically. After watching you over the years, I've seen how protective you are of your subordinates, especially Edward. I know that no amount of pain I put you through would change your mind, but the torture of your youngest subordinate just might."

To the older men's surprise, Ed actually laughed.

"You're absolutely insane if you think torturing me would get him to join you!"

Vincent's gaze switched back and forth between the two alchemists. He finally locked eyes with Ed who was still giggling.

"You mean you don't know how much the Colonel cares about you?" Ed's laughter stopped when he realized Vincent was being completely serious. "Do you know that he checks up on you and your brother when you spend late nights researching at the library? Do you know that whenever he sends you on a mission, he always calls the official you're working with to make sure you're okay throughout your mission? Did you know that while Scar was terrorizing East City, he desperately searched for anything that might be a lead on the Philosopher's stone so you and your brother wouldn't be anywhere near him?"

Ed was expecting Mustang to deny it, but his superior said nothing.

"Colonel, is all of that true?" Ed asked.

He could make out the slight nod of Mustang's head. There was no point in denying it, especially if the Drachmans had been watching him for so long. Vincent would obviously know he was lying. Vincent was about to turn and walk towards Ed with the knife when Mustang caught his attention.

"You definitely know a lot about me," Mustang said calmly, but the burning rage that was present in his eyes earlier was making a return, "So it should be absolutely no surprise to you that if you touch one hair on his head, I will end you."

The smile on Vincent's face grew even more, looking almost clown like. He leaned in close to Mustang and whispered in his ear.

"You say that, but right now you're completely useless. You can't even help him in your current state. I did say I needed him alive, but that doesn't mean he can't be in constant pain or mentally broken. You and I both know that there is certain torture that can be worse than death. So, unless you decide to join us, I've got quite a show for you."

Vincent turned away from Mustang, who was glaring daggers at the man's back. He walked over to Ed with the knife in hand. He didn't even hesitate before he slashed the knife across Ed's chest, making a tear in his shirt as he did so. While Ed did not cry out in pain, he couldn't stop the grimace that crossed his features. Without warning, Vincent slashed his chest again, but this time deeper than the first one. After the third slash, he paused for a moment and studied the knife, as if he was admiring the way Ed's blood looked on it.

"It's such a shame that your commanding officer is allowing you to suffer, isn't it Edward?"

Ed didn't even give him an answer, settling for glaring at him defiantly. Vincent took the knife and brought it just underneath Ed's left eye, making a cut from his eye to his ear. He stared in fascination as the blood started to stream down Ed's face. He turned Ed's head so Mustang could get a better view of the cut and blood.

"It's absolutely beautiful. Wouldn't you agree, Mustang?"

Like his subordinate, Mustang didn't say anything, but the murderous look he sent Vincent's way spoke a thousand words. Vincent put a hand on Ed's cheek, smearing the blood and getting some on his hand. He walked over to the Colonel and wiped Ed's blood off the knife with the Colonel's shirt. He stared into Mustang's eyes.

"You obviously see that I am not making empty threats when I say I will torture young Edward. It will only escalate from here, and Colonel, I'm afraid you're the only one to blame. You can end his pain at any time. I'm going to give you two a few minutes alone to really think it over, and I hope for your subordinate's sake that you change your mind," Vincent said as stroked Mustang's cheek with the hand stained in Ed's blood, staining Mustang's face with it as well.

He left the room and let the door slam shut behind him. Mustang felt a bit sick when he looked down at his white shirt stained with Fullmetal's blood and could feel the stickiness of it on his cheek. What disturbed him more was the thought that the torture would only get worse, and all he could do was watch.

There had never been a time when Roy Mustang felt so useless.

 **I hope you all liked the second chapter! In case anyone was curious about Mustang's team, they will be featured in later chapters. These first few chapters will be focusing on just Roy and Ed. I should hopefully update again soon! Let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am back with a new chapter! You all are absolutely amazing! Thank you so much to everyone that has followed/favorited/reviewed this story! It means so much! Sorry this chapter took longer to update, I had to rewrite parts of this chapter over and over again. Anyways, I hope you all like it!**

 **I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its freakin' awesome characters.**

The two captive alchemists remained silent once Vincent left. Neither one of them knew what to say. Ed was still in disbelief that Mustang had been watching out for him for the past three years, especially because he never would have guessed his superior would do such a thing in a million years.

Mustang was filled with dread. He knew he could never betray his country and join forces with the Drachmans and he knew Ed was aware of that. Hell, the kid would probably kill him if he even considered it for a second, but that didn't stop him from feeling guilty that Ed would be tortured. He could hear the clanking of chains as Ed struggled against the manacles that bound him, but realized quickly that it was no use.

"How's your chest and face, Fullmetal?" the Colonel asked, finally looking up at his subordinate.

"Fine."

Mustang knew that was a lie, but didn't call Ed out on it. The two were silent once again. That silence was broken when their captor returned.

"You know what I just realized, Colonel?" Vincent said as he walked in, still donning that creepy smile that Mustang wanted to incinerate right off his face.

Vincent was not alone. Five of his men followed him into the room and two more positioned themselves at the door. Mustang recognized two of the men as the ones who had restrained him in the mine, and one of them was carrying a whip. Once Ed laid eyes on the whip, he knew that this was not going to be pleasant for him.

"It seems as though I'm the only one enjoying himself. I think you should have the opportunity to have as much fun as I'm having! I'm going to give you a choice, Colonel, and you can feel free to decline if you wish. Either you can deliver twenty lashes to Edward's back with that whip over there," he said, gesturing to the man with the whip, "Or Corin will, but the count will increase to thirty-five lashes."

Mustang couldn't hide the look of horror that crossed his face. He looked over to the man with the whip, assuming him to be Corin. He was muscular, not as muscular as Armstrong, but he definitely was much stronger than the young Colonel. He could really do some damage to the kid.

"What kind of a choice is that?" Ed demanded.

"A choice that will make this whole experience more...interesting for your superior," Vincent responded, never taking his eyes off Mustang, "Now I would take advantage of this chance you have to choose, Mustang. It might be awhile before I let you participate again!"

Vincent relished the obvious indecision the Colonel was facing. Of course he wouldn't want to hurt his subordinate himself, but if he didn't, someone that would cause Ed even more pain would do it, and the count of lashings would be much higher than if he did it. Mustang met Ed's gaze. He opened his mouth then closed it, unsure of what to say to the teenager.

"I won't blame you," Ed told him, as if he could read Mustang's thoughts.

Had the situation been any different, Mustang would have laughed at the idea of Ed actually trying to provide assurance to him instead of it being the other way around. This actually did comfort him a little, but that didn't make the decision any easier on him.

"You need to make your choice, Mustang. If you don't answer me, I'll just assume you want Corin to do it."

Vincent's voice brought the Colonel out of his thoughts. He looked at the ground, not really wanting to face Ed or Vincent when he answered.

"I'll do it," he said, his voice barely audible.

Vincent had obviously heard it because he giggled in absolute glee.

"Get him down," Vincent ordered.

Two of the men sprung into action, one lowering Mustang fully to the ground while the other freed him from his restraints. The thought of fighting back crossed Mustang's mind, but he was greatly outnumbered and Ed would probably get punished for his actions. Another man lowered Ed until he was on the ground on his knees. The man who freed the Colonel guided him over to Corin, who was holding the whip out for the Colonel to take.

Mustang sighed deeply and stared at the whip, trying to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do to his youngest subordinate. He could hear Vincent chuckling.

"Any day now, Colonel."

Mustang glared at him as he begrudgingly took the whip. Anger flared through him as Vincent walked over to Ed and stroked his braid, then moved it so it was over his shoulder as opposed to hanging down his back. He hated the way Vincent touched his subordinate. It was almost as if he was trying to comfort the kid despite what he had already done to him and the horrors he was planning.

"Oh, and I should let you know that if I see you holding back, I'll have Corin continue from where you left off, but the count will increase to forty lashes," Vincent said with a malicious smirk as he moved away from Ed to let the torture begin.

Mustang just nodded as he walked behind Ed. He wanted to say something that might comfort his subordinate, or at least apologize for what he was about to do. However, he didn't want to show any weakness in front of the Drachmans. Vincent obviously knew that watching Ed get tortured was bad enough, but to be the one torturing him was even more emotionally and psychologically scarring. If Vincent found out how much this would truly pained him, Vincent might actually be able to break him.

Ed tried to mentally prepare himself for what Mustang was going to have to do to him. If he was honest with himself, he was more concerned for Mustang. The Colonel was definitely a bastard when he wanted to be, but even Ed knew that it was absolute torture for him to hurt one of his subordinates...especially if the man cared about him and Al as much as he just learned he did. His mental preparation did little to help him when the first lash came across his back. He managed to just grunt in pain. As the lashes continued, Ed had to bite his lip to keep from crying out, hard enough that he broke skin and had blood dribbling down his chin and into his mouth. He kept fairly quiet until the tenth time the whip cut into his skin.

It felt as if someone stabbed Mustang right through the heart when he finally heard Ed cry out in pain. He tried his best not to show it, but that didn't stop him from briefly hesitating.

"Keep going, Mustang," Vincent instructed him.

Mustang took a deep breath and raised the whip yet again. With each lash, Ed's cries grew slightly louder as the burning sensation intensified across his back. During the seventeenth lash, Mustang had accidentally hit a bit too far to the side so the whip wrapped around Ed's stomach and cut deep into the skin. Ed screamed in agony.

The last three lashes were delivered, and Mustang dropped the bloody whip while Ed's head fell to his chest and he sagged in the manacles. He stared for a moment at his subordinate's tattered back. His shirt was completely shredded, each whip had torn through it. Angry red welts covered his back and blood flowed steadily from some of the wounds. Before anyone could stop him, Mustang rushed forward and landed on his knees in front of Ed. He took the kid's face in his hands. Ed's eyes were surprisingly open, but he looked completely incoherent.

"Fullmetal, I'm so sorry!" he whispered before Corin grabbed him and moved him away from Ed.

Some more of Vincent's men had to help Corin in handling the pissed off Colonel.

"Son of a bitch, let me go! I have to help him!" Mustang hollered as he was restrained in the manacles again and suspended off the ground.

Vincent's maniacal laughter rang throughout the room.

"I don't think he wants your help, seeing as you're the one who did this to him," he said as he walked back to Ed.

Ed looked like he was ready to pass out at any moment. It was a wonder that he hadn't yet. With Mustang restrained, the others left the room, leaving the two alchemists alone yet again with Vincent.

"I'm sorry that your superior did this to you, Edward," Vincent said as he kneeled in front of Ed, taking his face in his hands just as Mustang did.

Ed glared weakly in return, seeming a bit more aware of what was going on around him now.

"You're the one who made me do it!" Mustang yelled.

"I actually didn't, Mustang," Vincent giggled, turning his head to look at the Colonel, "I gave you the choice. You didn't have to nearly shred your subordinate's back. Whether you thought the alternative was worse or not is irrelevant. The fact is you still chose to hurt young Edward."

Mustang stayed silent, not exactly able to deny Vincent's words. Vincent gave him a victorious smirk.

"Go...to...hell…." Ed managed to rasp past his bloody lips.

It seemed to take all the energy Ed had to say those three words. While Ed's physical state was appalling right now, it did comfort Mustang to know that his defiant spirit remained completely intact. Vincent's attention was now brought back to Ed.

"Now why would you tell me to go to hell? I'm not the one who brutally whipped you, Edward."

The fact that Vincent was trying to blame Mustang for this just angered Ed. He used what little energy he had to spit in his captor's face, satisfied when the smirk completely faded. Vincent sighed deeply as he wiped the saliva and blood from his face.

"You're quite stubborn. I can see why you're called Fullmetal," he said calmly.

That calm demeanor completely changed as he struck Ed across the face, causing more blood to spill from his lips. He slapped a hand on Ed's back. Ed grimaced in pain, but then his eyes widened and he let out a choked scream as he felt Vincent's fingers dig into one of the slashes on his back.

"I'm afraid that defiant attitude of yours is going to have to go away."

Ed's vision flashed white as Vincent's fingers dug even deeper into his wound. After Vincent removed his hand, Ed's head fell back to his chest. Black spots danced in his vision until he closed his eyes, letting unconsciousness claim him.

Vincent said nothing to Mustang as he got up and lowered Ed so he was lying down on his stomach and not hanging by his arms. He left the room, leaving the Colonel with silence and the view of Ed's mutilated back.

 ***break***

Hawkeye sighed as she finally finished the last of her paperwork for the day. She looked at the clock to see that she had actually finished her work a little early. Probably because she didn't have to stop every hour to make sure the Colonel was doing his work and threaten him when he wasn't. Since she had told the others that they could leave as soon as they had finished their work for the day, it was quiet in the office. The only one remaining was Havoc, and he was only still there because he was nearly as bad as the Colonel when it came to doing his work, but even he was almost done. That quietness was ruined when Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes burst into the office.

"Who wants to see my newest pictures of Elicia?" he asked taking out several different pictures and gushing over them, "Here's one of her in her swimsuit! She's so adorable! Here's one of...wait where is everyone?"

"I told everyone they could leave once they finished their work," Hawkeye explained.

"Oh, well then I'll just show Roy. I know he's not done with his paperwork!" Hughes said jovially as he made toward Mustang's office.

"He's not here, sir. He and Ed were sent on a mine inspection in Kanon."

Hughes whipped around and stared at Hawkeye.

"Those two are where?" he asked, the smile fading from his face.

"Kanon," Havoc answered him, "I thought the Colonel would have told you about that. He got the mission from the Fuhrer himself."

"Has Roy contacted you since they arrived?" Hughes asked Hawkeye.

"Yeah," she replied, concerned by his sudden change in mood, "He called me last night when they got to the inn. Why?"

Hughes looked a little relieved, but the worry was still there. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Why would he send them there?" he muttered more to himself than the other two in the room.

Hawkeye and Havoc glanced at each other.

"Sir, is there something we should know about their mission?" Havoc asked.

"We received a message from South City about a week ago," Hughes began, "They said that there had been word of Drachman spies in the southern region of Amestris. As you both probably know, a couple of Drachman spies had snuck their way into the country, but we didn't know that they would go so far south, or why for that matter. Of course we alerted the higher ups, but we didn't think too much about it. Some of us have been investigating for the past week, but haven't found anything. I just don't like the idea of the Fuhrer knowing that there could possibly be Drachmans hiding in the south and sending two of the most powerful state alchemists there alone."

Hawkeye had to admit that it was a little suspicious. She always worried about the Colonel when she wasn't with him. She knew that the Colonel was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but he most likely wasn't even aware of this possible threat. Worst of all, Ed was with him. State alchemist or not, he was only fifteen. She hated the thought of him being near any Drachman spies. While there was the Non-Aggression Pact between the two nations, anyone in the military knows that the tension between Amestris and Drachma remains and could escalate to a full scale war at any time. The fact that there were Drachman spies in Amestris at all was proof of that.

"I'm sure they're okay," Havoc said, not sure if he was trying to reassure Hughes or himself.

"You're probably right, Havoc. I told the Colonel to check in with me every day that he's on the mission. I'll alert him of the situation when he calls tonight."

The two men nodded, hoping the best for their comrades. Hughes began to walk out of the office, but turned to Hawkeye at the last second.

"If he doesn't call you by midnight tonight, will you notify me immediately?" he asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Of course, sir."

The Lieutenant Colonel left, leaving Hawkeye and Havoc alone. Hawkeye glanced at the clock, impatiently waiting for the call from her Colonel.

 ***break***

The first thing Ed registered when he started to return to consciousness was the intense burning he felt on his back. He groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He was surprised to find himself lying on the ground as opposed to hanging from his wrists. After an attempt to lift himself off the ground and put his bound hands under him so he could try to sit up, he quickly realized how sore and exhausted he was. He plopped back down on the ground and he let out a grunt at the impact.

"Take it easy, Fullmetal."

He turned his head so he could see Mustang. The Colonel had a dark expression on his face. Ed could see that he obviously felt guilty about what he had to do. Ed was determined to at least sit up. It took awhile since his wrists were still in the manacles and his legs were still bound, but he managed to sit up and draw his knees to chest. Mustang noticed the pain etched on the kid's face and almost ordered him to lay back down, but he figured the kid would be in pain no matter what position he was in. Ed would probably just ignore him anyway.

"How long have I been out?" he asked the Colonel.

"If I had to guess, a couple of hours. Vincent hasn't come back."

Ed nodded. The guilt on the Colonel's face was becoming even more apparent.

"I know I already told you, but you were pretty out of it when I said it. I'm so…." Mustang was cut off when Ed interrupted him.

"Don't you dare tell me you're sorry, Mustang. I told you I wouldn't blame you, and I meant that. Vincent might say that it was your decision, but we both know that you really didn't have a choice. I would be much worse off if you had let the other guy whip me," Ed paused and chuckled, "Besides, you hit like a girl."

Mustang gave him a small, sad smile. Only Fullmetal would still try to crack a joke at a time like this. Despite Ed trying to comfort him, he would never be able to get this nightmare out of his head. He mentally scolded himself. He couldn't think about that right now because he had to focus on trying to figure out how they might get out of their current predicament. With Fullmetal injured as bad as he was, fighting their way out would be hard, especially if he got tortured more before they got their chance to try to escape. He also had to be realistic, they might not even get a chance to escape. The Drachmans had been watching them for a long time, so keeping them restrained and denying them an opportunity to escape was probably one of their top priorities.

The two alchemists would probably have to be rescued, which would be difficult because no one was probably aware that they were even missing. Well, not yet anyway. Mustang had promised Hawkeye that he would check in with her when he was back at the inn for the night. When he promised Hawkeye that he would call, he had to follow through if he didn't want to be cowering under his desk while dodging bullets. Hawkeye would know something was wrong when he won't be calling that night.

Mustang smiled when he thought of his team. He had hand picked every one of his men. They were all brilliant and talented in their own ways, although they could do incredibly stupid things at times. When it came to what really mattered, he had no doubt that he could count on them. If anyone could get him and Ed out of this, it was his team. Even though it would be tough, Mustang had complete faith that his team would find them. The only question would be if they could find them before Vincent followed through on his promise.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was hard making Mustang hurt Ed in this chapter...but what can I say? The Drachmans are cruel! I know the ending was a little sappy, but I didn't really know how else to wrap it up. Also, the ending does mean that the team will find them any time soon! I have lots more planned for this story. Anyways, let me know what you think! Hopefully I will update again soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back! Thank you so much again for the response to this story! You guys are absolutely amazing and I'm glad you all like the story so far! I'm sorry that this update came a little later than I expected, exams kind of got in the way. This chapter will feature some definite Parental!RoyEd in the beginning, so I hope you all enjoy that!**

 **As usual, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

"I think you've got some explaining to do, Fullmetal."

Ed had been resting his head on his knees until Mustang had interrupted the silence that previously filled the room. He looked up at his superior, a little confused as to what he could be referring to.

"How did you know that I want to become Fuhrer?" the Colonel asked.

Mustang knew the kid had to be in terrible pain. He figured that getting him to talk and engage in conversation might get his mind off it. Ed thought back to their conversation from when they first woke up in their prison. He had almost forgotten that he had admitted to knowing about Mustang's bid for Fuhrer. He sighed and began his story.

"You're known as the Hero of the Eastern Rebellion. You're also the type to take pride in what you do and what you accomplish, but you never bragged about being a war hero. I went to Hawkeye to ask about Ishval a couple of months ago. I figured there might be a reason that you didn't talk about it, so I didn't bother asking you. You probably wouldn't have answered my questions anyway. Aside from that, I honestly didn't know much about the war at all and I was genuinely curious about it. She was nice enough to tell me everything the military did out in the East. She told me how the state alchemists were used as human weapons on the front lines, and you all had to follow orders with no questions asked. She told me about all of the people that were killed as a result of those orders. I heard about how awful Ishval was, but to hear the entire account of someone that was there was eye-opening.

"She told me about the guilt that plagued you two, as well as others like Hughes and Armstrong, and that had become your motivation. She told me of your plans to restore Ishval and to end the corruption in our government. You two want to establish a democracy here in Amestris, giving the people the right to elect the leader of our nation. That's why you're working your ass off to rise through the ranks. You act like a self-centered bastard who only looks out for himself, but you actually have the best interest of Amestris always on your mind. After talking to Hawkeye, I understood completely why all of your subordinates are so loyal to you. A man that not only genuinely cares about his subordinates, but all of the people of Amestris is a man that needs to become Fuhrer. Hawkeye told me not to tell anyone except for Al. When I told him, we determined that we would both support you in whatever way we could.

"That's why I gave myself up when I thought Vincent was going to kill you. Al and I are both aware that we don't matter in the big picture, but you do. If something happened to me, Al could still potentially find the Philosopher's Stone. He's brilliant enough that I have complete faith that he could. If something happened to you, the corruption in our government would continue and destroying it would be nearly impossible. If anyone can bring hope to the future of Amestris, it's you, Colonel."

Mustang stared dumbfounded at Ed. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Ed was only fifteen when at times he had the maturity of men twice his age. He was surprised that his stubborn subordinate admitted this to him, considering the kid never seemed to tell anyone other than Al anything personal. Ed seemed to realize that he had just complimented his commanding officer and looked away in an almost embarrassed manner.

"But don't get me wrong, I still think you're a bastard."

Mustang laughed. Of course Ed would have to add that on to the end of his explanation. Couldn't let anyone think that he might like the Colonel, now could he?

"You and Al's support means the world to me, Fullmetal."

Ed looked back to his superior and could see that he truly meant it. He raised his eyebrows at the Colonel, remembering that he had a few things to answer for himself.

"Now, Mustang, I think you need explain what Vincent was talking about when he said you've been looking out for Al and I."

He could see it on the Colonel's face that the man had been hoping he would have forgotten it. Mustang sighed, much like Ed had.

"I honestly didn't expect to care for you and your brother so much. I knew you two were brilliant alchemists. You had to have been to even attempt…." he trailed off when he saw Ed tense, not even realizing he had been about to remind the kid of the worst mistake of his young life, "Sorry. Anyway there was no denying that you had a respectable talent, but everyone honestly thought you would be this bratty kid that didn't care about anyone other than himself and his younger brother.

"I expected you to just go through the motions with your missions and just try to get on to researching the Philosopher's Stone. Vincent was right, I would call with whatever official you were working with to make sure your mission was coming along fine. I know you're a prodigy, but you're still young and I know some of the missions I've given you were difficult. What I never expected was the response that I got from those who worked with you. Not only would you complete your mission with relatively few problems, you had a major impact on anyone that you came across. You helped so many people. It was very easy to see how you got the nickname 'Hero of the People.' I guess I saw in you the person I wish I would have been when I first joined the military.

"I could also relate to you and Al in a way. My parents died when I was young, so I know what it's like to not have much of a blood-related family, but my team became my family. We always had each other's backs, and we always will. Seeing you and Al grow over the past three years made us realize two are the same way with those that you care about, and we know that includes us. Even if you try to deny it, we all can tell. You could say we sort of adopted you and Al into our family. Since I'm the one who actually led you to the military, I felt that is was my responsibility to watch out for you and your brother, even if it was something as simple as checking on you and Al at the library when I knew you two would be spending late nights at the library for research."

Mustang paused for a second, chuckling to himself.

"You should have seen everyone's reaction when we first heard about Scar in East City. You are a skilled alchemist and are an incredible fighter, but you can definitely be reckless at times, especially concerning anything that might be a threat to Al. If you ran into someone like Scar, you could have easily been killed as many alchemists had been. I desperately searched for anything that could be a lead on the Philosopher's Stone, and even Hawkeye helped me a couple of nights, just to keep you away from East City. Unfortunately, we couldn't find much in East City's library, at least nothing that you hadn't already found yourself."

"Why didn't you ever tell me? I mean I knew you didn't hate me, but…." Ed was at a loss for words, which didn't happen all that often.

Mustang seemed to understand what Ed meant.

"You don't like it when people pity you, and even though that's not what I or anyone on the team was doing, you would probably see it that way and wouldn't take that well. I also tried to make sure no one outside of the team could tell, other than Hughes. It's not that I didn't want you or anyone else to think that I care, but you could easily be used against me if anyone found out how much you meant to me and my team. I couldn't put you in that position."

Ed nodded and smiled slightly. He was honestly touched that the team cared about him and Al as much as they apparently did. They always had the Rockbells back in Resembool that they could go home to, but they didn't get to go home often. It was nice to know that he did have a family within the military, even if they got on each other's nerves and didn't act like it at times.

Mustang studied the look on Ed's face. This was not the reaction he had been expecting when he admitted to how much he and his team cared for the brothers. He had almost been expecting the kid to yell at him for caring and rant about not needing anyone to watch out for him, but he actually seemed grateful. He could tell that Ed was still in pain, but there was something else there. For the first time since they woke up in their current predicament, he seemed almost hopeful, as if he had more of a reason to get out of their prison than just to get back to his brother. The two alchemists remained silent for a few minutes, but the silence was no longer awkward. It was slightly more comfortable now that the two had a better idea of how they felt about each other.

"Hey, Mustang?" Ed asked, getting his attention, "Can you promise me something? Well, two things actually."

"Sure, kid."

Ed took a deep breath.

"First, promise me that no matter what the Drachmans do to me, you won't even consider for a second about giving in, because I'm afraid I'll have to kick your ass if you do."

Mustang nodded, inwardly smiling. So he had been right about Ed killing him if he gave in. At least the two seemed to be thinking on the same page.

"Second, you won't blame yourself for whatever they make you do to me."

Mustang's face visibly fell. That was going to be a harder promise to keep. It already broke his heart that he whipped the kid, and who knows what else Vincent might make him do. He wasn't sure if he could keep this promise, but he would sure try for Ed.

"I promise," he whispered.

Ed had a grateful smile on his face.

"Thank you."

The smile that had graced Ed's face faded as soon as the door opened.

"I see you're awake yet again, Edward!"

Ed didn't say anything as Vincent walked back into the room. He drew his knees closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as best he could with his wrists still in the manacles. Mustang stared their captor down with a look that Hawkeye would have been proud of. Only two men followed Vincent into their prison, and they were carrying a tub full of water between them. They set it down in front of Ed before grabbing his arms and forcing him up to his knees, looking to Vincent to await his orders.

"After having some time to think, have you changed your mind, Colonel?" Vincent asked, although he already had a feeling he knew the answer.

Mustang shook his head. Vincent sighed and waved a hand in his two men's direction. One of them grabbed Ed by his hair and forced his head down into the water. Mustang could see Ed trying to struggle against the men holding him, but it was useless. He was already physically weakened enough, and Mustang knew that the lack of air wasn't helping at all with that.

Ed held his breath, knowing that Vincent wouldn't have him killed. Although the longer he was held under the ice-cold water, he began to wonder if their captor had changed his mind. His lungs burned as he let out what little oxygen he had managed to desperately hold in for so long. Suddenly the hand tangled in his blond locks lifted him up out of the water. He gulped for air, but only had precious seconds before his head was submerged yet again.

"As soon as you start cooperating, we'll leave him alone, even if it's just something as simple as telling me whatever you know about the Fuhrer," Vincent said as he moved to stand by Mustang's side.

Mustang didn't take his eyes off Ed, who was still submerged in the water. When he was pulled out of the water again, their eyes met briefly. He could see the slight shake of his subordinate's head before he was forced into the water again, as if he knew what Vincent was saying to him. Vincent was annoyed with the lack of an answer from the Colonel.

"If I had to guess, I would say you enjoy watching your subordinate get tortured. If you truly cared about him like I know you do, you would end his pain."

Mustang refused to speak until Ed was out of the water. This time this kid was coughing up the water that he had accidentally inhaled. He hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath before the men holding him made the move to put him underwater again.

"I'll tell you something you need to know," Mustang began.

Vincent motioned for the men to keep Ed out of the water. Mustang and Ed met each other's gaze. Ed couldn't hide the brief look of fear that crossed his face at the thought that his superior might be giving in and breaking the promise that he had just made to him. Mustang flashed him his trademark smirk before turning his head to Vincent.

"If you have really been watching Fullmetal, you'll know that he's a real spitfire when he's angry. He threatened to kill me if I even considered giving in. I guess what I'm getting at is that you should know that I'm definitely more scared of him than you, so you can just forget about the idea of me cooperating."

Ed's laughter rang throughout their prison. He had no idea that the Colonel could be such a smart ass. He felt nothing but absolute pride for his commanding officer. Vincent's reaction was a sight to see. The ever-present smile that always graced his features faded to a thin line across his face, as if he was trying to restrain himself from strangling Mustang.

"Would you two mind leaving us?" Vincent asked the other two Drachmans, although they could tell by his tone that it wasn't really a question.

They let Ed go and left the room. Ed remained on the ground on his side, exhausted from nearly being drowned multiple times. Vincent made his way over to him, and he didn't have the energy to fight back when he was yanked up by his hair and plunged into the water once more.

"What are you doing?" Mustang demanded when Ed had been held under the water longer than he had previously and Vincent was making no move to pull him back up.

Ed began to panic when he realized that Vincent wasn't going to let him breathe anytime soon. He choked when he inhaled some of the water, and it just kept coming in. Vincent was actually drowning him. He inhaled more water and everything faded to black.

Mustang knew something was wrong when Ed's body went limp. Vincent finally pulled Ed out of the water and put his body in plain view for him to see.

"Fullmetal?" he asked.

The kid wasn't coughing up water. His chest wasn't moving at all. Mustang's eyes settled on his face and saw that his mouth was slightly open and his eyes were closed.

"Edward…." Mustang was in shock. The kid couldn't possibly be dead.

Vincent knelt down next to Ed and put his ear on his chest. When he didn't hear a heartbeat, he began chest compressions. It felt as if ice was running through Mustang's veins. He couldn't get himself to do or say anything. All he could do was just stare in horror at his subordinate's lifeless body. He saw Vincent open the kid's mouth and pinch his nose, breathing air into him. As soon as he began chest compressions again, the kid's eyes flew open and he coughed up all the water in his lungs. Vincent turned Ed on his side so he wouldn't choke on the water he was coughing up.

The icy feeling that coursed through Mustang completely diminished now that he saw his subordinate alive and breathing. Confident that Ed wouldn't choke, Vincent got up and approached Mustang, the smile still absent from his face.

"Remember, Roy Mustang," he began in a low, dangerous voice, "The only reason Edward is alive is because I brought him back to life. I could have left him dead, but I didn't. It was a big risk, but I was willing to take it. Whatever punishment would have awaited me would be worth it to me if I got to see you live on without him should I have failed. Now, I would reconsider who you fear more: the kid, or the one who technically ended the kid's life and is the only reason he's alive."

 **I hope you all liked this chapter! I know that in Brotherhood, Ed didn't go talk to Hawkeye about Ishval until a lot later in the anime, but for this story it happened a lot sooner. I hope to update again this weekend! Let me know what you all think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Greetings! Here is the next chapter for you all! Again, I can't thank you all enough for all the response to this story! You guys have no idea how much joy it brings me! I have enjoyed writing this story so much, and you all only make writing it that much better!**

 **As usual, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

"Sir, you know Boss isn't going to be too pleased when he finds out that you drowned the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Vincent turned to Corin. The man had been waiting for him outside of Ed and Roy's cell. Despite not being in the room, the man was smart enough to figure out what happened. After all, it wasn't too difficult to hear through the door. They both could still hear the kid coughing now. Corin also probably heard what he said to the Colonel. Vincent shrugged as they walked away from the cell.

"He can live with it. I mean I resuscitated him, didn't I?"

"You can't act on an impulse like that. Both of the prisoners would make excellent human weapons for the Drachman military. I know that, you know that, and you sure as hell know that Boss knows that considering he gave you the order to capture them. He would kill you for killing one of them," Corin said, trying to make Vincent see reason and prevent him from doing something he would come to regret later.

"That may be so, but I will not be made a fool by two Amestrian soldiers," Vincent defended himself, "Roy Mustang needs to know exactly who he is dealing with and how far we are willing to go to get what we need. Besides, I saw something in the Colonel's eyes as he watched his subordinate die. While his defiance is still there, a small sliver of it faded. This might just be the first step to getting that Colonel to cooperate."

"But what if he doesn't?"

Vincent smirked.

"I don't think that will be a problem. But if he doesn't, we will still have the kid with us. That's going to torture him as long as he lives."

"This almost seems a bit too personal for you, Vincent. This wouldn't have anything to do with the time that the Colonel-" Corin started, but Vincent interrupted.

"That has nothing to do with this. My actions are solely driven by what I see as necessary for the good of Drachma."

Corin chuckled and shook his head. There was no way that was true. Vincent could hold a grudge better than anyone he knew, and he was afraid that the Flame Alchemist was going to learn that very soon.

"Anyway," Vincent continued, "Since there is a slight crack in the Colonel's spirit, we need to make quick work of taking advantage of that. The harsher we are, the sooner he'll give in."

 ***break***

Mustang couldn't get himself to take his eyes off Ed, as if him looking away would cause Ed to return to being the dead body that had been lying before him just a few moments ago. Being restrained and unable to do anything as he watched Vincent kill his young subordinate was absolute hell. What scared him more than anything was the fact that Vincent was willing to kill Ed, even if he wasn't entirely sure he could resuscitate him, just to prove that he could. He honestly hadn't expected their captor to act so rashly, especially since he said that he needed them both alive.

Ed was still lying on the ground on his side, greedily taking in air with each breath he took as if any breath might be his last. The Colonel couldn't blame him. Watching Ed drown could be described as nothing less than a horrendous nightmare, but he couldn't even imagine what the kid could have possibly been feeling. Ed looked completely worn out, both physically and emotionally. The amount of fear and panic that took over his body as he was being drowned must have drained him. After a few minutes, his breathing was relatively back to normal.

"Colonel, did he really just kill me and resuscitate me?" Ed asked meekly, obviously a bit shaken up and not entirely sure of what just happened to him.

Mustang nodded.

"Yes, he did," he responded.

Ed took a couple of deep breaths before talking again.

"Damn. I never expected that from him."

"Me neither, Fullmetal."

"I guess he didn't like you being a smart ass," Ed said with a weak smile.

Mustang found it astounding that after all the kid had gone through since they woke up in this hell, even technically dying, he was still trying to lighten the mood for them both. Ed was incredibly strong, more so than any teenager should ever have to be. Despite his strength, the Colonel was extremely concerned for his subordinate. He knew that enough torture could cause even the toughest of people to break.

"Please stop looking at me like that, Colonel," Ed pleaded.

Mustang then realized that his concern must have been evident on his face, but he couldn't help it. He knew that Ed didn't like people worrying about him, but it wouldn't be possible for him to stop worrying about the kid until they got out of there.

"Sorry, but I watched you die, Fullmetal. I feel as though I have every right to be concerned about you."

Ed didn't say anything in response, and even if he did, it wouldn't stop Mustang from worrying about him. The door to their prison opened yet again, but Vincent was not the one who entered much to the two captive's surprise. Instead, a young man with short brown hair that looked to be in his early twenties walked in with a duffel bag. Once his eyes landed on Ed, he looked utterly appalled at the state that he was in.

"I'll never understand how they could do this to a kid," he mumbled to himself.

"Who the hell are you?" Ed weakly demanded, still completely worn out.

"My name is Luka. I am a trained medic, and Vincent sent me in here to treat your injuries as best I can. He says he doesn't want his prisoners to die from an infection."

"You'll help him?" Mustang asked hopefully.

Luka nodded. He walked over to Ed who was trying to scoot away from the approaching Drachman, but was too worn out to make it very far. He settled for glaring menacingly at the visitor as he could only lie on the ground.

"Stay the hell away from me."

"Edward, you could get very sick if I don't properly clean your wounds. I don't want to hurt you," Luka said.

"I hate to say it, but he's right. I think it's in your best interest to let him help you," Mustang agreed, but a bit reluctantly.

He didn't like the idea of any of the Drachmans near his subordinate, but his wounds did need medical attention and this was the best they had for the time being. Although Ed was trying to hide it, he could see the slight fear in his subordinate's face. He thought of something that might be of comfort to Ed.

"Luka, would it be possible for you to lower me down so I could be near him? He might feel better and be a bit more cooperative."

Luka contemplated that notion for a bit, then shrugged. It's not like the two alchemists were in a position to fight, so he figured there would be no harm in it. He walked over to the crank and lowered Mustang to the ground, giving the chain enough slack so he could manage to crawl closer to his subordinate. It actually wasn't as difficult of a task as Mustang thought it would be. As long as he wasn't hanging by his wrists, he could actually move his arms a little more than he expected to despite the manacles. Once he was close enough to Ed, he put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know you don't want him near you, but you need medical attention. Let him help you," Mustang told him kindly, yet firmly.

Ed nodded and didn't struggle any further when Luka knelt down next to him and unzipped the duffel bag. He first pulled out two towels and handed them to Mustang.

"Dry him off. It's freezing in here and being wet isn't doing him any favors."

Mustang nodded. He quickly dried Ed's upper body so Luka could get on with treating his injuries. Once he was done with that towel, he folded it up and placed it under Ed's head so he was slightly more comfortable. He took the other towel and used it to dry Ed's hair. Luka rummaged through the bag until he found a bottle of what looked to be antiseptic and a roll of bandages. He lifted up the tattered remains of the back of Ed's shirt. Ed gritted his teeth as Luka began cleaning the wounds. Without even thinking, Mustang grabbed his flesh hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Ed's grip on Mustang's hand tightened as the pain intensified across his back.

"I know this hurts, kid. I'm trying to be as gentle as I can, but these wounds are deep," Luka said in a regretful manner, as if he was actually sorry for what happened to Ed.

"Why didn't Vincent have you do this earlier?" Mustang asked.

"He told me to wait until he ordered me to do so. He wanted you to see what you had done to Edward and feel the guilt from it. I guess he also wanted him to be conscious for when I treated him, so you could see him in more pain. I tried to come by sooner, but Vincent had a guard outside of this room and I couldn't get past him."

Mustang remained silent after that. He should have figured as much. Once Luka was finished patching up Ed's back, Mustang helped turn him over so he could do the same for the wounds on his chest. Ed visibly relaxed when Luka was finished.

"He should be fine for now. Hopefully, Vincent will let me check up on him soon," Luka said as he packed up the first aid supplies.

"Thank you," Mustang said, not taking his eyes off of his worn out subordinate.

Luka let out a dark chuckle.

"You shouldn't be thanking me. We're the reason he's even like this to begin with."

Luka stood up with the duffel bag and made to leave the room. Just before he got to the door, Mustang's voice stopped him.

"You don't want to be a part of this, do you?"

Luka turned and gave the Colonel a sad smile, then he left the room. Mustang was relieved that the young man had left him so that he remained with Ed. It was honestly a comfort to both alchemists. Mustang could see that Ed was completely exhausted, but was trying to stay awake. He gave the teen a comforting smile.

"It's okay if you want to sleep. I'll still be here with you. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

Ed nodded, letting his eyes droop shut. Mustang's hand unconsciously stroked Ed's hair, soothing the young alchemist until he drifted off to sleep.

 ***break***

"Honey, why are you still awake?"

Hughes was startled when Gracia's sleepy voice broke through the silence that previously filled his home. He checked the clock and saw that it was almost midnight. He didn't want to worry his lovely wife, especially when he wasn't even for sure if there was anything to worry about at all.

"I couldn't sleep. I was just reading over a couple of files I brought home from work. Go on back to bed. I'll be there soon."

That wasn't a complete lie. It was true he couldn't sleep and he was looking over a file, the file that happened to contain the report of the sighting of Drachman spies in the south. However, if he got the call he was hoping he wouldn't get from Hawkeye at midnight, he wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon. Gracia went back to their bedroom, and Hughes looked back to the file. He hadn't been on the team assigned to investigate the Drachman spies, but it hadn't been too difficult to get his hands on the file, especially with no one in the office.

As it turned out, there was a confirmed sighting of Drachmans in the south. This just unsettled Hughes. This meant the Fuhrer was completely aware of this fact and still sent two state alchemists that way with no back up. It was no secret to the surrounding nations that the state alchemists were some of the best weapons in Amestris, and Roy and Ed were two of the strongest alchemists in the military. If not aware of the threat, they could potentially get themselves killed since this was a prime opportunity to get rid of the two state alchemists. Of course, the two spies that were spotted could very well be long gone from that region. For all anyone knew, they could be back in Drachma. He must have looked over the file for what felt like the hundredth time when the phone rang. He quickly answered it before Gracia or Elicia would wake up.

"Hello?"

"Sir, he never called. I even called his room at the inn and he didn't answer," Hawkeye's voice came through the other end.

Maes sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. His best friend could be dumb at times, but he was not dumb enough not to call Hawkeye when she expected him to. The man actually valued his life.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked before he could say anything.

"There is the slim chance that he and Ed crashed immediately when they got to the inn tonight and could have been sleeping when you called. We probably shouldn't be too worried. He might call once he wakes up tomorrow morning," he said, although he knew that was next to an impossibility, "Although, if he does, we'll be as useless as Roy on a rainy day if we don't get some sleep ourselves. Besides that, there isn't a whole lot we can do tonight. I'll stop by your office as soon as I can. We might want to alert one of the generals to the situation if he doesn't call."

"All right, Lieutenant Colonel. I'll see you in the morning," Hawkeye said and hung up the phone.

Although Hawkeye seemed to agree that they should get some sleep, he had the feeling that he and the Lieutenant wouldn't be able to sleep tonight even if they tried.

 ***break***

Mustang watched Ed as he slept. For the first time since they had arrived to their prison, Ed looked relatively at peace. However, Mustang figured that was due to the fact that now he wasn't covered in blood and was so exhausted that he probably wasn't even dreaming. He rubbed Ed's back soothingly and it seemed to comfort the teen. Despite the fact that their situation looked grim for the moment, the Colonel couldn't help but be grateful for Luka taking care of Ed's injuries.

He honestly wasn't sure what to think about Luka. The young man obviously didn't agree with the Drachmans torturing a kid. Odds were that Vincent was holding something over his head to get him to cooperate. Mustang hoped that Luka would be on his and Ed's side and help them out as much as he could, but of course it would depend on what was keeping Luka here in the first place. He knew first hand that war could cause humans to do just about anything, no matter how cruel.

There was also the dark thought in the back of his mind that Vincent had put Luka up to the act of the reluctant young medic, hoping to gain his and Ed's trust only to have it completely shattered. Finding out that someone you thought you could trust was against you was absolutely soul destroying. While that was a very real possibility, Mustang hoped that wasn't the case with Luka.

The door to their cell creaked open and Mustang tensed. The noise caused Ed to wake up almost immediately. Once Vincent stepped into the room, Mustang instinctively moved himself in front of Ed, keeping himself between his subordinate and his torturer.

"Oh my, how adorable!" Vincent's voice boomed throughout the room, "The Colonel is trying to protect his little subordinate!"

Mustang could have sworn that he heard Ed growl weakly when Vincent called him little. The creepy smile that had disappeared the last time Vincent was in their prison had now returned. To Mustang's surprise, he didn't seem angered by the fact that Luka had left them together. The man walked closer to the captive alchemists, causing Mustang to tense even more.

"Haven't you done enough to him?" he growled at their captor.

"That depends, are you ready to cooperate?" Vincent laughed. Mustang didn't answer. "Thought so. You know, it's actually convenient that you two are already together. I'm giving you another opportunity to participate, Colonel!"

 **And there's the fifth chapter! I hope you all liked seeing the point of view of two of the Drachmans. In case there was any confusion, Vincent has not directly encountered Mustang previously, but they do sort of have a past and Vincent is not too pleased with the Flame Alchemist.**

 **I'm sorry that this chapter didn't have a whole lot of action. Writing the last chapter was a bit hard and I wanted a slightly more light-hearted chapter. Plus I wanted to write a little more about my original characters. Anyways, I hope to update again sometime this week! Let me know what you all think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey y'all! I'm back with another chapter! Again, my apologies for the lack of action in the previous chapter. I really just wanted to write something more light-hearted after killing Ed and resuscitating him. Also, I am sorry that this update didn't come a little sooner. Life just kind of got in the way I guess. Anyways, I am hoping that you all find the events occurring in this chapter to be much more interesting.**

 **As usual, I do not own FMA...that's probably a good thing for Ed and Roy.**

Mustang's heart nearly stopped. After the last time Vincent "allowed" him to participate, Ed was half-dead. He wondered what on earth he was going to make him do to the boy now. Vincent could obviously see his concern and chuckled.

"Relax, Mustang. I'm not going to have either you or someone else whip the kid again. He's obviously not in a good enough condition for that at the moment. I'm sensible enough to realize that."

Ed had managed to sit himself up and give Vincent an incredulous look while Mustang looked as if he wanted to murder the man, which he really did and probably would given the opportunity. Corin and another Drachman that the two alchemists didn't recognize entered the prison and guarded the door.

"This won't cause near as much damage to your subordinate, but will still be painful all the same! Colonel, you'll have the choice to either pull off each of your subordinate's fingernails," Vincent said as he pulled a pair of pliers out of his pocket, "Or I will, but I'll break every one of his fingers as well."

Before Mustang could even think, Ed was already leaning in close to him.

"It's fine, just do it. Remember what you promised me," he whispered almost desperately.

Honestly, Ed didn't want Vincent anywhere near him. Their captor sent chills up his spine every time he touched him, or even looked at him for that matter.

"Now, young Edward," Vincent chided, "It's not near as fun for me if you tell your superior what to do. If you would let him come to a decision himself, this would be a much more entertaining experience!"

"Do you really think I care?" Ed growled right before Mustang elbowed him gently in the ribs.

Mustang shot him a look that told him to be quiet. Ed reluctantly obeyed. That was most likely the smart decision, seeing as Vincent could be angered quite easily. Even though this wouldn't cause near the harm to Fullmetal as the whipping did, Mustang found it almost more difficult to make this decision. Last time, he was standing behind Ed and didn't have to see the pain on his face until after it was over. This time, he would be right next to him, seeing and feeling all of the pain that he would be putting him through. Although, Ed would kill him if he didn't respect his wishes. If there was any upside to this hellish situation, it would be that Ed wouldn't have his fingers broken.

"Give them to me," he said begrudgingly as he gestured to the pliers.

Vincent happily handed him the pliers before crouching down next to Ed.

"Now I know this won't hurt as much as before, but that doesn't mean you can't scream nice and loud for him!" he hissed in the teen's ear as he settled down next to him.

Ed chose to ignore him and lock eyes with his superior, who seemed a bit hesitant. He held out his flesh hand and Mustang took it, the look they were sharing between them conveying everything the two were thinking but thought better to not say aloud. Mustang gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before he grabbed his thumbnail with the pliers, causing him to tense out of reflex. It took everything in Ed's power to not pull his hand away and not to scream as the Colonel started removing the nail. Who knew that something so small could hurt so bad? Blood immediately started streaming from where his nail used to be. Ed had resorted to clamping his automail hand over his mouth to keep himself from crying out in pain as Mustang continued. He knew this was already torture enough for his superior, hearing him scream would only make him feel worse.

"We can't have that, now can we?" Vincent asked as he pried Ed's automail arm away from his mouth, knowing what Ed was trying to do.

Ed glared at him and tried to pull his automail arm away, but it was useless. With only two nails left to remove, Mustang took a deep breath. He hated having to torture his youngest subordinate like this, but he hated himself even more. He knew that he promised Ed that he wouldn't blame himself, but he couldn't help it.

"We're almost done, Fullmetal," he mumbled under his breath.

He couldn't get himself to meet Ed's eyes, but out of the corner of his eye he could see the kid nod. Deciding to hurry up and get this over with, he tightened his grip on Ed's hand and quickly removed the two remaining nails. Ed let out a quiet whimper, unable to stop himself. Mustang dropped the pliers and stared at his subordinate's bloody hand, trying to think of anyway he could help stop the bleeding or ease the kid's pain. Suddenly, the hand he was holding was yanked away from him.

"Hey!" Mustang protested as he reached out for Ed as Vincent dragged him just out of the Colonel's reach.

Vincent gestured to Corin, and he obediently came forward and knelt down so he could wrap his arms around Mustang, keeping him still. Ed tried to struggle as Vincent pulled him into his lap and wrapped an arm around him, pinning his automail arm to his side.

"What are you doing?" Mustang demanded.

Vincent smirked as he rested his chin on Ed's shoulder and said nothing. The lack of a response really irritated the Colonel. Vincent grabbed Ed's bloody hand with his free arm.

"No!" Ed protested, but it came out as more of a whimper.

Without saying a word, Vincent twisted one of Ed's fingers until there was an audible crack. Ed clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He squirmed in Vincent's hold, but the grip around him was strong.

"I did what you asked! Stop!" Mustang practically screamed as Vincent broke another one of Ed's fingers.

Vincent remained silent as he broke the rest of the fingers on Ed's flesh hand, not even acknowledging Mustang's protests. He let out a satisfied sigh when he broke the last finger and wrapped his other arm around Ed, forcing the kid to lean back against his chest. The closeness at which he held Ed infuriated Mustang. All he wanted to do was break free, incinerate Vincent, pick up his subordinate, and carry him away to some place safe where he wouldn't ever be hurt again. Vincent finally spoke up.

"Go get Luka and some of the others," he ordered the remaining Drachman in the room, then he looked back to Ed, "How does it feel to know that despite the result being the same, your superior still chose to hurt you?"

Ed's eyes were glazed over in pain. Being pressed against Vincent's chest was irritating the wounds on his back and his hand was killing him. However, he could still comprehend everything that Vincent was saying to him and it absolutely enraged him. It was as if Vincent was doing everything he could to make him think that this was Mustang's fault.

"He didn't know that would happen, bastard," he managed to growl through gritted teeth.

Ed looked to Mustang and he could see the obvious divide between concern for him and murderous rage toward Vincent. Everyone turned their heads when Luka walked into the room with his duffel bag. A few more Drachmans entered as well. The young medic looked at Ed with sorrow-filled eyes.

"Good for you to join us, Luka!" Vincent said with pure joy, "I need you to quickly bandage his hand. I do believe it's time."

Luka looked shocked and a bit scared for the two captive alchemists.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he knelt down near Vincent and Ed.

He took out some bandages out of the bag and made quick work of cleaning up the still flowing blood and bandaging Ed's hand.

"Yes, I am absolutely sure," Vincent answered with a malicious grin.

Luka huffed in obvious disagreement, but put away the bandages and pulled out a vial and syringe. Mustang honestly felt terrible for Ed. He heard that the kid was scared of needles and this experience certainly wasn't going to help him get over that. Once the syringe was filled with the contents of the vial, he inserted the syringe into the crook of Ed's flesh arm. Ed's useless squirming ceased immediately, but he didn't look as if he was going to go unconscious any time soon. His eyes were opened, but unfocused. This worried Mustang.

"Perfect," Vincent muttered.

He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked Ed from the manacles and freed his legs. To Mustang's surprise, Ed didn't even try to put up a fight. He was lying still against Vincent's chest. Luka handed a dark piece of cloth to Vincent, who then blindfolded Ed with it. Vincent grabbed him under his arms while Luka grabbed his legs. The two were able to lift Ed with next to no struggle and made their way to the door of the prison.

"Where are you taking him?" Mustang demanded, straining to get out of Corin's hold.

"That's irrelevant to you, Colonel, and there's no need to worry. I just merely want to spend some quality time with Edward," Vincent chuckled. He looked to the rest of his men, "Move him. Make sure he doesn't know where he's going."

Before Mustang could react, he was also freed from his restraints. Strong arms grabbed his own and yanked him to his feet. A blindfold was also tied across his eyes and he was forced out of the room. He railed against the arms that lead him away from his subordinate, but it was no use against the strong Drachmans holding him. As tried to keep track of the turns as they marched him through their base, but it was almost as if the base was a labyrinth. He actually lost track of how many turns they made and had no idea what direction they were heading. None of the Drachmans said a word. Nothing made any noise but their footsteps, until they heard a blood-curdling scream.

Mustang didn't even have to think about it. He knew that the scream had come from Ed, and it made his blood run cold. The scream sounded almost inhuman. Something within Mustang snapped. The paternal instinct he had tried so hard to hide when it came to Ed and Al completely possessed him. With a newfound strength, he managed to kick the legs out from under the man holding his right arm, causing him to release his arm. The man fell to the ground, not expecting the sudden attack. He quickly removed the blindfold and punched the guy holding his other arm in the nose and he heard a satisfying crack. On instinct, the man clutched his face in a vain attempt to stop the blood flow. Another Drachman grabbed Mustang from behind and Corin raced forward to help restrain him, but Mustang leaned back into the one holding him and sent a kick flying toward Corin's head. Fortunately for him, the kick made it's mark and was hard enough to render Corin unconscious. He twisted around in the grip of the guy holding him, managing to free himself and bash his head against the wall.

Before any of the Drachmans had a chance to wake up or recover from Mustang's attack, he bolted off in the direction that he heard the scream come from. Unfortunately, he was right when he thought the base was a labyrinth. There were so many twists and turns, but there had to be a path that would lead him to Ed. He just kept running, unsure of where exactly he was going. He determined he was going to get Ed and himself out of here.

 ***break***

Hughes and Hawkeye walked briskly through Central, determined to alert Lieutenant General Raven to the current situation. They probably could tell any general in Central, but it seemed to Hughes that General Raven was the least intimidating and the only one that might be willing to get involved. Quite a few of the generals resented Colonel Mustang for how quickly he was rising through the ranks, but General Raven wasn't and seemed almost impressed by the young Colonel. However, the two had to mentally prepare themselves for him to say that they had nothing to worry about and do absolutely nothing to help them. They glanced at each other before Hughes raised his hand and knocked on the door to the General's office.

"Come in," they heard from within the office.

The duo entered the office, and the General rose up from his seat.

"Why hello! You're Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, if I do remember correctly!" He greeted them with warm smile. He turned to Hawkeye. "And you're First Lieutenant Hawkeye, working under Colonel Mustang?"

Hughes smiled and Hawkeye nodded as they saluted the General. He dismissed their salute with a chuckle.

"There's no need for that! It's good to see you two. What brings you to my office?"

"Well, sir," Hughes began, unsure of how the jovial general was going to see their concerns, "Colonel Mustang and Major Elric were sent on a mine inspection two days ago. Neither one of them called last night to check in with the First Lieutenant as they were supposed to. They didn't call first thing this morning either."

General Raven had a puzzled look on his face. Usually he was notified when an officer as high ranking as a Colonel was sent on a mission. Before Hughes could explain any further, he interrupted the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Who sent them on this mission?" he asked.

"Fuhrer Bradley did, sir." Hawkeye answered.

Now the General was visibly taken aback. All of the generals were made aware of any missions given to an officer directly by the Fuhrer. Not wanting to give the two other officers a reason to worry, he tried to quickly compose himself, but his reaction definitely did not go unnoticed.

"Well I'm sure the Colonel and Major had a good reason for not calling. They were probably just exhausted after the mine inspection and are possibly still sleeping now. Or perhaps they thought to hurry up and finish the inspection so they could get back to Central."

Hughes sighed.

"Sorry for bothering you. We were just concerned because of the sighting of Drachman spies in the South City and thought we would-"

"Where were they sent for this mine inspection?" the General asked with wide eyes, once again interrupting Hughes.

"Kanon."

Any trace of General Raven's calm demeanor was long gone. He stormed out of his office, and Hughes and Hawkeye chased after him.

"I can't believe he would do this," he muttered under his breath as the trio made their way to the Fuhrer's office.

He didn't even bother knocking on the door, just barging into the office in a fit of fury. The Lieutenant Colonel and First Lieutenant were stunned at his behavior and they looked at each other, both thinking that something must be seriously wrong. They waited just on the inside of the office, not wanting to get in the way of the discussion between General Raven and Fuhrer Bradley. The Fuhrer almost seemed as if he was expecting them.

"Lieutenant General Raven, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Bradley asked with his usual smile.

"With all due respect, sir, what the hell were you thinking?" the General demanded, slamming a hand on the Fuhrer's desk.

Hawkeye was completely astounded by the way Raven addressed the Fuhrer, but she figured he may very well deserve it. Bradley rose from his desk and turned to face the window.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to," he stated calmly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" General Raven accused, "You sent Colonel Mustang and Major Elric to Kanon knowing that Drachman spies were around that area. You're completely aware that the Drachmans are targeting them!"

Hughes and Hawkeye immediately tensed and shared a look of a mix between horror and worry. Bradley just chuckled.

"It seems you have very little faith in two of our strongest alchemists. Both of them are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. They are more than qualified to handle a couple of Drachman spies. Since the Drachmans are ordered specifically not to kill them, it won't result in any loss of Amestrian soldiers."

"No one in the military knows just how many Drachmans have snuck into Amestris. There could be more than just a few, sir. According to First Lieutenant Hawkeye, neither one of them has been heard from since the night they arrived. They could have been caught, and it's no one's fault but your own for sending them in alone!"

The Fuhrer finally turned away from the window to face the General. Despite the smile on his face, there was a dangerous look in his eye, silently telling the General to back down.

"I understand your concern, but there could be multiple reasons for them not calling. They aren't due to return for a couple of days. If they haven't returned by then, we will send some soldiers to Kanon to check on them. Until then, try not to worry. You are dismissed."

The three soldiers exited the office. Once the door was shut, General Raven practically dragged Hawkeye and Hughes back to his office and quickly shut the door. He wanted to make sure they wouldn't be overheard.

"Listen to me very carefully," he said in a desperate, but soft voice, "About three months ago, the military captured two Drachman spies up North that were trying to sneak back into Drachma. It took a lot of interrogating and torture, but one of them finally managed to crack a couple of weeks ago. We asked him what he was sent to do here, and he said that he was ordered to watch our state alchemists since they seemed to be our best weapons. There were others that were ordered to do the same. He specifically mentioned that Flame and Fullmetal were on the top of the list for state alchemists that the Drachmans wanted in their military. I wanted to tell them, but Fuhrer Bradley had other ideas. Since the prisoner admitted that the two had been watched for awhile, it would be obvious if there was even the slightest difference in the way they acted and the Drachmans would be on to us. He didn't want the Drachmans to know that we knew what they were doing and planning. I honestly didn't agree with the idea, but I couldn't get myself to disobey the Fuhrer's orders.

"We asked where some of the other spies might be, and he said down South. When we got the call from South City, we knew that he wasn't lying. He made it sound as if not many Drachmans were here, but I have a feeling that was a lie. From you've implied, the Colonel is good about checking in when he should, so this is definitely not a good sign. First Lieutenant, gather the rest of your team and all of you need to meet me at the train station in an hour. We're going to Kanon."

"Yes, sir!" Hughes and Hawkeye said simultaneously.

 ***break***

Mustang wasn't entirely sure how long he had been running. An hour? A few minutes? He wouldn't have been able to tell. He was fueled purely by adrenaline and the desperate need to find his subordinate in this hell. He turned another corner upon hearing voices.

"Split up now. We're dead if we don't catch him!"

The Colonel paused for a moment trying to determine where the voice had come from. Panic flared through him when a hand clamped over his mouth and he was pulled into a different hallway.

"Don't worry, it's just me."

He was released and he turned to face Luka.

"You don't have much time. I know you want to find Ed, but you're not going to be able to. He's on the other end of our base, and there's no possible way you can find him without getting caught. Even if you did manage to find him, you and I both know that he's in no condition to fight and you wouldn't make it out. You're fairly close to our south entrance to the base. You might be able to sneak past the guards. If you manage to escape, tell your military to shut down every train station in Amestris and make sure to secure the borders. Don't let anyone in or out. Should you escape, my best guess is that Vincent's superior would want him transported to Drachma. I would watch out for him and try to delay them to buy you as much time as possible to find him," the young medic said quietly, yet quickly.

Mustang whipped around when he heard footsteps, but they apparently weren't coming down his hallway. When he turned back to Luka, he was gone. Deep down, he knew Luka was right. Every fiber of his being told him to find his subordinate, but he couldn't afford to get caught. Not if he wanted the best chance possible of getting them both out of this mess. Besides, if Ed found out that he had the opportunity to escape and get help and didn't take it, he would probably find himself transmuted into whatever creative thing the kid could concoct in that wild imagination of his.

He sprinted in the opposite direction of the Drachmans he heard just a few moments previously. He made another turn, but it was ultimately the wrong way to go. He barely heard the footsteps behind him before he was tackled to the ground. Several more footsteps were heard running down the hallway. Mustang soon found his arms pinned behind his back and several strong hands keeping him pinned on the ground. He saw a pair of black boots stop in his line of sight.

"That was very stupid of you, Colonel," Corin chuckled. He knelt down and grabbed a fistful of Mustang's black hair, forcing the prisoner's head up. "I hope you know that you've only made things worse for the kid."

That was the last thing he said before bashing Mustang's head against the ground, rendering him unconscious. Corin shook his head with an amused expression on his face as he saw Mustang being dragged away. Vincent was going to have a little too much fun for the next couple of days.

 **I hope this slightly longer chapter makes up for the later update and I hope you all enjoyed it! Team Mustang is now on the way! Yay! But how long will it take to for them to find two of our favorite heroes? Or will they even find them at all? O.o**

 **Anyways, I know General Raven was a bad guy in Brotherhood, but he hasn't gotten involved in all of that Homunculus crap yet for this story's purposes.**

 **I hope to update again real soon! I also have some other ideas for one-shots and stories that I hope to be writing within the next couple of weeks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey y'all! Here is the next chapter! My apologies for the delay in this update. I had exams and I got sick and I'm just now getting over it. I don't think words can express the gratitude I feel for all the response this story has gotten. It makes my heart so happy to know that you all enjoy it!**

 **Anyways, I still don't own FMA...I wish I did though….**

 ***two days later***

Mustang didn't know what to think as he was blindfolded yet again and dragged through the base. It had been two whole days since he had actually seen Ed, and the only reason he knew how much time had passed was because Luka had been kind enough to tell him when the medic came to give him a little bit of bread and water just a few hours previously. Of course he had asked about his subordinate, but Luka had been under strict orders not to tell him anything concerning the teen.

Luka had mentioned how he had visited the Colonel and gave him water the first day he had been separated from Ed, but he must have been completely incoherent during that time because Mustang didn't remember that at all. In fact, he struggled to recall much from the past two days except for his nightmares. He remembered bitterly how he had woken up after Corin had bashed his head into the floor. His wrists had been bound behind the chair he had woken up in. Luka was the first person to greet him, but it wasn't exactly a happy reunion for the two. The young medic had immediately given him an injection and left the room.

The drug that he had been given is something that Mustang hoped he would never be in contact with again. Based on what it did to him, he gathered that it was meant to trap someone in their worst nightmares until the drug wore off. It really made the Colonel wonder how the Drachmans managed to design such a drug. Whenever he would wake up from his nightmares, Luka would be there ready to inject him again. Sometimes, he would be conscious long enough to hear a scream or two that he knew in his gut was coming from Ed. He hadn't heard from Vincent for the past two days, which was likely due to the fact that he had barely been conscious for the past two days. This only served to concern him. The less time that Vincent spent with him meant the more time he was spending with Ed.

Once the Drachmans dragging him had reached their destination, he heard a door open. The blindfold was ripped off and Mustang found himself shoved roughly into the room. The door was immediately slammed shut and the turning of a lock was heard. It didn't take long for Mustang to realize that he was back in the room that he and Ed had woken up in when they were first brought to the base. The array that decorated the entire room made it pretty memorable, as well as Ed's blood on the floor. The manacles were left in the same position that they were in when the two had been moved two days previously. He looked around and noticed something curled into a ball against the wall. It took him a minute to recognize that it was Ed. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his face was buried into his knees. What really caught him off guard was the fact that the kid's hair was no longer blonde. It had been undone from its usual braid and now had a reddish-brown color. Ed didn't move and gave no indication that he was aware of Mustang's presence in the room.

"Fullmetal?" he asked as he cautiously approached the teen.

Ed still did not move or say a word. Mustang knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder, noticing that his subordinate was trembling.

"Don't touch me!" Ed shrieked as he scooted away from Mustang and into a corner.

Mustang didn't dare move again, not wanting to scare his subordinate any more than he already had. Ed blinked, seeming like he recognized who was with him now.

"Colonel? Is that really you?" he asked meekly.

Mustang started to move closer.

"Yes, it is."

Ed didn't seem convinced. He tensed as Mustang tried to move closer to him, causing Mustang to stop.

"What did you do the first time you met me?" Ed asked.

Mustang looked taken aback by the question, but decided to answer it if it would make Ed feel better.

"I barged into the Rockbell's residence, picked you up by the front of your shirt, and demanded to know what that thing was in your house."

Ed looked slightly more comfortable. His entire body still trembling, he crawled forward. Mustang didn't move as Ed touched his shoulder with one hand and the side of his face with the other. Ed let out a breath of relief. This was the first close up look that Mustang got of the kid. He saw that his eyes were bloodshot and he looked ready to collapse at any moment.

"It really is you."

Mustang nodded. Ed looked almost embarrassed as he drew away from the Colonel.

"Sorry," he apologized with an attempt at a sheepish smile.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, Fullmetal," Mustang said, still stunned at the thought of what could have caused Ed to act this way.

Ed cocked his head to the side, looking at a bandage on Mustang's head.

"What happened? Did they hurt you? Please don't tell me they hurt you…." Ed's voice trailed off, concerned for his superior.

Mustang felt along his head until he found what Ed was talking about. He had been so out of it that he didn't even realize that he even had a wound on his head.

"That must be from when Corin knocked me out a couple of days ago. It's nothing to worry about, Fullmetal," he assured the teen, "Besides, you should be more worried about yourself."

The two were quiet. Mustang wanted so desperately to know what happened to Ed in those two days that they were separated, but he wasn't sure if the kid would tell him. He figured he would try anyway. He was about to ask when Ed yawned. Perhaps Ed would tell him after he got some sleep.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Mustang suggested.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

Ed sighed.

"Vincent injected me with something. I have no idea what it was, but it's kept me awake for the past two days. Luka says I won't be able to sleep until it wears off, but he said it shouldn't be in effect for too much longer."

Mustang had sorely underestimated how far the Drachmans had come when it came to their methods of torture. His heart ached for Edward. While he had been mostly unconscious for these past two days, Ed had been awake for every torturous minute of it. He couldn't possibly imagine what the poor kid had been through.

"What happened to your hair?" Mustang asked next.

"Vincent said my hair would look better with my blood in it."

That particular thought made Mustang want to vomit. All of Ed's hair had been dyed with his own blood. What disturbed Mustang even more was wondering what Vincent had done to him to produce enough blood to dye the kid's hair. He was about to ask when the door to their cell opened. Mustang was grateful when he saw that it was Luka who was entering the room. He carried a couple of bottles of water and some bread instead of his usual bag.

"Hey, Luka," Ed said with a smile.

Sleep deprivation was really taking its toll on the young alchemist. Both of the older men in the room could definitely tell. He certainly wasn't acting like himself.

"Hey, Edward. Do you feel like eating now?"

Ed shook his head no, causing Luka to sigh. Mustang was now even more concerned for Ed, which he didn't think could be possible.

"He hasn't eaten anything?" Mustang asked Luka.

Luka shook his head. He handed the two alchemists a bottle of water and gave some of the bread to Mustang. When he saw how much Ed's hands were shaking, he helped guide the bottle to Ed's lips so he wouldn't lose any of the water he so desperately needed. He noticed that Ed was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"Thank goodness. I think the drug is finally wearing off," Luka said.

Mustang didn't even have to think about what to do next. He automatically leaned against the wall, pulling Ed onto his lap so he could lay more comfortably against his chest. He wrapped his arms around the kid, sharing as much of his body heat as he could. Ed immediately curled up against his superior.

"You're warm, Colonel," Ed mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

Mustang rested his chin on top of Ed's head and sighed, grateful that his subordinate was finally able to sleep. He could sense that Luka felt a bit better now as well. He looked the young medic in the eyes.

"Luka, he was absolutely terrified when I tried to touch him earlier. What happened to him?" Mustang asked.

Luka gave him a sad smile and shook his head.

"I'm not permitted to tell you much, and neither is your subordinate. What I can tell you is that Vincent had me give him a hallucinogen. Whatever it caused Ed to see sent him into near hysterics. I don't think I've ever heard more inhuman screams come from anyone. While Vincent was torturing him last night, Ed called him by your name. I think the hallucinogen caused Ed to think that Vincent was you part of the time. He seems to be struggling with remembering what was reality and what he was hallucinating. When he wakes up, he'll probably have questions about what you've done to him and what you haven't." He paused for a moment and looked at Ed. "Please get him to try and eat some bread when he wakes up. I tried to get him to eat some earlier, but he said he felt like he would throw it up. He really needs to eat something."

Mustang nodded. Luka got up and headed toward the door, but he stopped just before leaving.

"Just letting you know, I think Vincent is planning to visit you two in a couple of hours. Maybe even sooner."

"Thanks for the warning," Mustang said genuinely.

Luka left the room, leaving the Colonel to watch over his sleeping subordinate.

 ***break***

Hawkeye sighed in frustration. The team along with Lieutenant General Raven had arrived in Kanon the previous day. After consulting with the mayor, they learned that he had not seen either one of the alchemists since the two went out to the mine the previous day. He originally thought that they must have gone straight back to the inn after inspecting the mine, but the innkeeper said that she hadn't seen them either. She checked their room and saw their luggage was gone. She assumed that they must have come by and left while she was away from the desk. After talking to the people selling tickets at the train station, none of them seeing anyone like Mustang or Ed, the two were officially considered missing.

Hughes and Hawkeye had known all along that something was wrong. Once Raven had explained the situation to the rest of the team, they all got a bad feeling as well. Hawkeye found it to be a complete waste of time by talking to all the townspeople, when she knew that the Drachmans spies were responsible. She just wanted to find her Colonel and the teenager that she as well as the entire team had come to love. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Hughes put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know you're frustrated, but General Raven just made a call to South City. They're going to send us some reinforcements that should be arriving in a few hours. Once they arrive, we can go search the mine."

Hawkeye nodded. Truthfully, she wanted to rush into the mine now and start searching, but she knew that was not a good plan. If there were enough Drachmans that were skilled enough to capture the two most powerful state alchemists, they could tear apart a single sniper with no trouble. Besides, the mine was only a place to start looking. No one had claimed to see anyone leaving the mine since Mustang and Ed went out there, but she knew that people could build secret passageways and hideouts within a mine. If there was a passageway that the Drachmans took to escape the town, her comrades could be anywhere. That was probably what worried her most.

 ***break***

 _Mustang loomed over him, tapping a knife against his chin. This couldn't be real. The Colonel might be a bastard, but he would never hurt him like this, would he? No, at least not willingly. A wicked grin spread across his face as he got an idea of what to do next. His superior moved what remained of his shirt, exposing his stomach. He started to squirm against the restraints on his wrists and ankles that kept him pinned to the table he was forced to lay on._

" _I would be still if I were you, otherwise this will hurt more than I intend for it to."_

 _That was weird. Mustang was the one standing over him, but Vincent's voice was coming from his mouth. He couldn't hold back the scream when the blade of the knife dug deep into his stomach. It seemed as if Mustang was carving something into his stomach, but he couldn't tell what. Worst of all, his superior seemed to be enjoying his pain._

" _Colonel, why would you do this to me?" he screamed out as his eyes were clenched shut in agony._

"Fullmetal!"

 _Vincent's laughter assaulted his ears. When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted with the Colonel's face inches from his. He automatically flinched when the man leaned in, his lips right next to his ear now._

"Fullmetal!"

" _Remember, from now on, you are the property of Drachma."_

"FULLMETAL!"

Ed jerked awake. He was now on the ground with Mustang hovering over him, pinning his wrists to the ground. This scene felt all too familiar, but he had to remember that he was back with the real Mustang now. His superior looked relieved to see him awake.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You were having a nightmare," Mustang answered as he got off Ed, "Sorry for pinning you down, but you were trying to scratch your flesh arm to wake yourself up. I didn't want you hurting yourself more."

"It's fine, Colonel. Thank you," Ed said sincerely.

As he slowly sat up, Mustang held out the piece of bread that he vaguely remembered Luka bringing in. Ed took a bite of it and almost spit it out immediately. His nightmare made him feel a bit nauseated, but he knew that he had to eat. He forced himself to eat the small piece of bread, then he positioned himself against the wall next to Mustang. He still felt a bit shaken up about his nightmare. It was as if he just relived that terrifying torture session from the previous evening. The logical part of him knew it wasn't Mustang, but whatever Luka had injected him really screwed up his concept of reality. Given that Vincent had been forcing Mustang to torture him, it wasn't completely impossible that it was Mustang. However, he couldn't remember what Vincent had done to him and what he hadn't. He figured the best way to know was to ask.

"Hey, Mustang, do you think you could answer a few questions for me?"

"Of course."

Ed took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself for the answers.

"Was it you or Vincent that slashed my chest?" he began.

"Vincent," came Mustang's short response, the name practically laced with venom in his tone.

"Was it you or Vincent that whipped me?"

Mustang hesitated before answering. He thought that Luka's warning might mentally prepare him for answering Ed's questions, but it did very little to help. Guilt quickly spread across his features.

"It was me."

Ed stared off into space as the memories started to return.

"Vincent told you to whip me, or Corin would but the count would increase," he said aloud, but more to himself than to Mustang, "I'm really sorry for asking, but I really need help remembering what happened."

Mustang just nodded in understanding. Ed proceeded to ask about what happened to his flesh hand. Ed took a deep breath before asking his last question. He turned to face Mustang and lifted up his shirt to reveal his stomach.

"Did you do this to me, Colonel?"

Mustang's eyes widened at what he saw. He expected to see the bandages on his chest from when Vincent slashed him. He also expected to see bruises from Vincent doing chest compressions after he drowned the poor kid. However, he wasn't anticipating the bruises that completely covered his ribs. What nearly made his heart stop beating was what he saw carved into his subordinate's stomach.

 _PROPERTY OF DRACHMA_

He hesitantly reached out and gently ran his hand over Ed's stomach, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes. The carving had obviously not been cleaned or bandaged. He could see the dried up trails of blood that had flowed when the wound had been inflicted. He met Ed's eyes and shook his head, indicating that he had not been the one to do that to him. Ed let out a sigh of relief and moved his shirt back down. He sat back against the wall and drew his legs up to his chest.

"What else did Vincent do to you?" he asked in a scarily calm manner.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Before Ed got a chance to answer him, Vincent sauntered into the room. That same parental instinct that possessed him when he heard Ed scream two days previously arose upon seeing his subordinate's tormentor. He bolted toward the man and slammed him against the wall with his hands around his throat.

"How dare you!" he snarled through gritted teeth, his grip tightening around Vincent's throat.

Corin and a couple of other Drachmans struggled to get him off their leader, but they were eventually successful. Vincent made retching noises as he recovered from nearly getting his throat crushed by Mustang. Once he collected himself, his usual demeanor returned.

"I see that you saw what I carved into your subordinate. I think it looks good on him, don't you?" Mustang gave no response. "I do have to apologize for not visiting you the past couple of days. I had originally wanted to separate you two so I could conduct a more formal interrogation with you. I thought you not knowing what was happening to Edward might convince you to change your mind. However, after I heard about your little escape attempt, I couldn't resist having more fun with your subordinate."

He slowly made his way to where Ed was still sitting against the wall. Mustang noticed how Ed tensed up as Vincent approached him. For the first time since they were brought to this hell, Ed actually looked somewhat afraid of their captor. This was not a good sign. Vincent crouched down in front of the kid.

"You know, Edward, you really haven't had much of a say in anything around here. I'm going to give you the opportunity to make a decision of your own," he began as he pulled out a small metallic device that had two short prods on one end as well as several buttons, "I trust that you remember what this is?"

Ed swallowed and nodded. Mustang looked confused. He had never seen such a device in his life. After seeing and hearing about some of the drugs that the Drachmans had concocted, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to know what this particular device did.

"You have the choice that I can use this on you again, or I can use it on Colonel Mustang. I am giving you the chance to spare yourself the pain."

Mustang strained against the hold of Corin and the other Drachmans restraining him.

"Fullmetal, you've been through enough. Choose me, I'm begging you!" the Colonel practically pleaded.

Ed didn't even look at his superior. He couldn't get himself to considering he was going against his wishes.

"I choose myself," he said, then he finally looked at Mustang with a sad smile, "Sorry, Colonel."

Ed's flinch didn't go unnoticed as Vincent grabbed him by his hair and dragged him to the center of the room so Mustang could get a better view. Three more Drachmans entered the small prison. One grabbed his ankles, another gripped his wrists, and the third positioned himself near Ed's head. Vincent took off his belt, forced it into Ed's mouth, and secured it behind the teen's head. Ed let out muffled protests and glared daggers at Vincent as he gagged him.

"Sorry, kid. You almost bit your tongue off last time. I can't risk that happening again," Vincent explained as he pressed one of the buttons and the device buzzed to life. He looked to the man near Ed's head. "Make sure he doesn't hit his head too hard."

The man nodded. Vincent pressed another button and a spark shot between the two prods on the device. He pressed the prods against Ed's side, and Ed burst into convulsions. It practically looked like the kid was having a seizure. After around a minute, Vincent pulled the device away. The room was silent except for Ed's ragged breathing and the hum of the device in Vincent's hand.

"I'm going to give you one last chance to change your mind, Edward. Do you want me to stop and for your superior to take your place?" Vincent asked.

Ed shook his head no, so Vincent once again placed the prods against his side. After a couple of minutes, he pressed another button. Ed let out a muffled scream as more electricity shot through his body. His convulsions worsened. The Drachman by his head had to actually hold it down so he didn't hit his head and give himself a concussion.

Vincent looked amused as Mustang could do nothing but watch. He knew that Ed deciding to take this pain upon himself was killing the young Colonel, and he was enjoying every second of it. Occasionally, he would pause to give the kid a moment to breathe before amplifying the effects of the device. He honestly could have continued for hours if it wasn't for one of his men entering the cell.

"Vincent, we have a problem."

 **And there's it is! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again, sorry for the delay in the update, but sometimes life gets in the way, ya know? Anyways, the device Vincent used to torture Ed was suppose to be like a taser sort of thing. I know they didn't have that in FMA, so I thought the Drachmans could develop it for this story's purposes. Now as for why Ed can't tell Mustang much about what happened those two days they were separated, that will be revealed in later chapters! Next chapter, we'll get a little look into why this is a more personal matter for Vincent, and I'm looking forward to writing that very much! I plan on updating sooner rather than later since I am on break from school.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is the next chapter for you guys! Thank you so much for sticking with me through this story so far! It means so much to me! This chapter will explore a little more into both Vincent and Luka, so I hope you guys enjoy this!**

 **As usual, Fullmetal Alchemist is still not mine.**

There was a part of Vincent that wanted to shoot the man that just reported to him that there was a problem. Thankfully for the young messenger, that part was not very dominant as he was in the middle of a torture session and had been enjoying himself moments previously. He wanted to reprimand the man for admitting that there was a problem in front of their prisoners, but it must be urgent if it meant interrupting him. He immediately left the small prison, motioning for his men to follow him out.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting me," Vincent growled out as they walked through the halls of the base.

"It is," the young Drachman responded, "We spotted the Colonel's team in Kanon along with Lieutenant General Raven. We got a call from those in South City. Apparently the General called for some reinforcements."

Vincent nodded. He expected as much from Mustang's team, but he hadn't accounted for Lieutenant General Raven being there. They had not planned on any of the higher ups in Central to already be taking action. The two alchemists weren't originally due to even leave for Central until today.

"Thank you for notifying me. I'll call and see what Boss will want us to do."

Vincent was already dreading this call. He had an idea of what his superior would want them to do should their current situation escalate, but he best make sure to consult with the man first. He would rather not experience first hand the wrath of his superior if he didn't do as he wanted, even if it meant that his current time with Roy Mustang might be ending a bit sooner than planned. On the other hand, the Amestrians would actually have to find their base first, which may very well not happen. Unless one knew what to look for, it was nearly impossible to find. However, they would all have to start taking more precautions, and his superior would still need to be updated. To Vincent's annoyance, he saw Luka coming down the hallway.

"Can I go check on Edward?" the young medic asked.

Vincent nodded, then smirked once Luka was out of his sight. Once Luka was out of hearing range, laughed quite loudly.

"What's so funny?" Corin asked, honestly kind of afraid to hear the answer.

"Let's just say I have some surprises in Luka's medical supplies. I think he's gotten a little too friendly with our prisoners. He hasn't interfered with any of our plans, so I won't punish him severely. That doesn't mean I can't have a little fun, though," Vincent replied.

Corin sighed. He actually felt kind of sorry for the Fullmetal Alchemist. Knowing Vincent as long as he had, he was definitely aware of how sadistic the man could be, and the kid seemed to be his new favorite toy. This really wasn't much of a shock though. War could really bring out the worst in people, and Vincent had decided to embrace it.

 ***break***

Mustang barely even registered what was said. His eyes had been locked on Ed the entire time. The minute he was released and the Drachmans left, he rushed to his subordinate and got the belt out of his mouth. Ed groaned as Mustang picked him up and carried him back to the wall they had been previously before Vincent came.

"Why would you do that?" Mustang asked almost desperately. "I'm your commanding officer. You shouldn't be the one protecting me."

Mustang settled himself against the wall and positioned Ed so the kid's head was in his lap.

"Family always looks out for each other, Mustang," Ed said.

Mustang sighed and shook his head.

"You really are something, kid."

The Colonel stroked Ed's hair, remembering how it relaxed him the last time he did. Neither one said a word until the door to their prison opened yet again. To Mustang's relief, Luka was the one to enter, and he seemed to be somewhat happy.

"I have some good news for you two," the young medic whispered as he approached them.

Both alchemists raised their eyebrows, curious as to what Luka had to say. He looked almost relieved.

"Your team, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, and Lieutenant General Raven have arrived in Kanon."

Hope surged through the two alchemists. Since Ed was getting tortured, the possibility of escaping was near nonexistent if they both wanted to get out of there. Rescue was going to be their best bet, and now there was hope. All the team would have to do is actually find them.

"You seem happy about that, Luka," Mustang observed, "It's obvious that you don't want to have any part of this, so why are you here?"

Luka gave him a sad smile as he rummaged through his bag.

"When I was young, my mother got sick and passed away. I determined then that I would study to become a doctor so I could help people, so no one else would lose their mom just like I had. When I look back, I can see how childish I was. A couple of years ago, my father was diagnosed with the same illness my mom had. It would take a few months before the disease would actually kill him, so I decided to study medicine from some other countries. I already had a good understanding of Drachman medicine, but none of it would be able to help my father. There seemed to be some promising advancements in medicine in Xing. I tried smuggling in some of the drugs from Xing so I might be able to study and experiment with them to see if they could help cure my father. Unfortunately, some of those drugs are illegal in Drachma and I was arrested.

"After I was caught, the Drachman military had searched my home and found some of my experiments that I had conducted before I went to Xing. They seemed to be quite impressed with what I had managed to come up with. Instead of throwing me in prison, they decided to recruit me to design drugs for the military. Most of them were for medical purposes, which I didn't really mind. It wasn't until the tension between Drachma and Amestris started escalating that everything started to go downhill. The military wanted to send me to Amestris to work with some of our spies to experiment with drugs for torture purposes. I refused, but both of my sisters are in the Drachman military. My superiors threatened to send them on the frontlines when we went to war. With your military's state alchemists, that's a death sentence. When I finally agreed and came to Amestris, Vincent had me working on experiments to develop new methods of torture. I absolutely hate it, but I can't let anything happen to my sisters. I guess it could be worse, though. At least Vincent let's me take care of anyone here that either gets sick or injured. He usually doesn't interfere with that, except in the case concerning you two. I can only help when he allows me to."

Luka started to clean the blood off of Ed's stomach and disinfect the carving. Ed felt a bit sorry for the medic. Honestly, he would probably do the same if he was in Luka's position. Al was all that he had left of his true family, so he would be willing to do almost anything if it meant protecting him.

"Did you find a cure for your father?" Ed asked.

Luka shook his head as he finished bandaging the carving on Ed's stomach.

"I'm sorry," Mustang said, "He must have been a great man to be able to raise a son like you."

"Thanks, Colonel," Luka replied as he gestured to his bag, "Would you mind looking in there for a syringe and a vial? It's a pain reliever that I developed. Ed's going to be really sore after having all that electricity pulsing through him, especially since he probably aggravated some of his wounds that are just starting to heal, but after I administer it, he won't feel anything for a few hours."

Mustang searched through the bag until he found what Luka was talking about.

"When did you develop this?" he asked as he handed Luka the syringe and vial.

"A couple of months ago. The first night you and Ed were separated, I gave him some while Vincent was asleep. I couldn't give him too much, or Vincent would have noticed that he wasn't in as much pain as he should have been and would have made things even worse for Ed."

Mustang couldn't help but feel grateful for Luka looking out for Ed while he had been unconscious. Luka inserted the syringe into the crook of Ed's arm and pressed the plunger. Ed immediately felt the effects of the drug. His brow furrowed, raising some alarm in Luka. At first, Ed just looked mildly uncomfortable, but then his face turned into a grimace of pain.

"What's wrong?" Mustang asked as Ed started to shift around.

"Everything hurts," Ed complained, "And it's getting worse by the second."

Mustang's head snapped up to Luka. He was beginning to wonder if he should have trusted the young medic at all. However, Luka just looked confused and absolutely concerned. Unless he was a really good actor, he didn't know what was happening to Ed. The door opened partially and Vincent peeked his head into the prison.

"By the way, Luka, it might interest you to know that I replaced that pain reliever in your bag," he said smugly.

He laughed and left as quickly as he had come. Luka groaned as he realized what Vincent had done.

"This can't be happening. He said he wouldn't interfere as I was treating him. Why would he do this?" Luka mumbled more to himself than Ed or Mustang.

"Luka, what did you inject him with?" Mustang asked quietly, yet firmly.

Luka looked absolutely ashamed of himself. He was absolutely heart-broken when Ed let out a quiet whimper as the pain intensified throughout his body. He swallowed and answered Mustang.

"Vincent wanted me to develop a drug that amplifies the pain that a person is already feeling. It's the exact same color as the pain reliever that I created. I guess he switched my vials…."

He trailed off as Ed's body started to contort involuntarily. His teeth were clenched so tight it looked like he might break them. Luka's previous expression of sorrow was now replaced with one of pure anger. He packed up his bag and looked to Mustang.

"The effects should only last a couple of hours, but he's going to be in a lot of pain during that time. Try to make him as comfortable as possible. Vincent is sure going to have hell to pay. He can't just interfere with me treating a kid."

With a determined look in his eyes, Luka stormed out of the prison.

 ***break***

 _Smoke permeated the air. Slowly but surely, it was clearing. Vincent coughed and fought the urge to move from their hiding spot. Of course it was dangerous to be hiding in Ishval, but he and the other Drachman spies had gotten excellent intel on the state alchemists. The Flame Alchemist, as they had heard him called, was the most efficient soldier in this war. They had already sent word to their military about him. The higher ups wanted them to remain for a few more days, just to make sure they didn't miss any other potential human weapons._

" _You guys okay?" Vincent heard a voice ask in his earpiece._

 _He was relieved to hear his best friend's voice. He sighed and pressed a button on his walkie-talkie._

" _We're fine here, Mason," he replied._

 _Every explosion had him concerned for Mason. He was one of the few people he had come to actually care about. Ideally, they wouldn't be in this situation, but they had to do this for the good of Drachma. At least his best friend was only a couple of blocks away, so they could aid each other if necessary. Luckily for them, they hadn't run into any problems since they arrived in Ishval. Vincent heard another explosion._

" _You guys okay?" Vincent was now the one to ask._

 _He was met with silence._

" _Mason, is everything okay?"_

 _More silence._

" _Mason? Anyone?"_

" _Vincent, what's happening?" Corin asked, concerned about the panicked look on Vincent's face._

" _Mason's group isn't responding."_

 _Vincent bolted from the building his group had been hiding in. He probably shouldn't have moved, but he didn't care. He could see smoke a couple of blocks away, exactly where Mason's group was stationed. Once he reached it, he was greeted with the sight of the building they were hiding in up in flames._

" _No."_

 _He slowly backed away. He finally registered the stench of burning flesh assaulting his senses. Mason couldn't be dead. All of the Drachmans present in Ishval knew the risks of being there, but this wasn't supposed to happen to Mason. Not his best friend. He whipped around to see some retreating soldiers. Along with them, the Flame Alchemist. They must have been after some of the rebels. He moved to chase them down, but was stopped when Corin's arms wrapped around him._

" _Let me go! I'm going to kill him! He just killed Mason and three of our men!" he hissed as Corin wrestled him into a nearby building._

" _Vincent you can't!" Corin tried to reason with him, "He could be beneficial for our military. Think about our country. That's what Mason would want you to do."_

 _Vincent wrenched himself out of Corin's hold and spun around to face the man._

" _What the hell do you know about what Mason would want?" he demanded._

" _I know that he would want what was best for Drachma. Besides, we're not even supposed to be in Amestris. If someone found out that we were here and killed one of their prized state alchemists, war would be waged on Drachma, and we currently are not prepared for war."_

 _Vincent knew that Corin was right, but that didn't stop the anger that raged through his being. He might not be able to do anything about it now, but he would one day make the Flame Alchemist pay for what he did._

"Are you okay?"

Vincent was snapped out of his reverie when Corin approached him. The man raised an eyebrow at him. Vincent nodded.

"You were thinking about Mason, weren't you? You only have that solemn look on your face when you're thinking about him."

Again, Vincent nodded. He couldn't really complain too much now. For the time being, he had the Flame Alchemist in his clutches. He knew that torturing the man wasn't going to bring Mason back, but it actually did make him feel better.

"You do realize the Colonel didn't intentionally kill him, right? He was going after some of the rebels. He had no idea that Mason was even in that building."

Corin did not care whatsoever about Mustang or Edward, but he still had to make sure that Vincent continued to see reason. People motivated by vengeance were people that often made fatal mistakes. That wasn't exactly something the Drachman military could afford.

"I'm well aware of that," Vincent responded, his usual creepy smile returning, "But you know what the best part is? I don't care! The fact remains that he killed my best friend. He honestly deserves to die. The only reason he's even alive is because he could be useful to Drachma, so torturing him will have to do for now. Causing him pain has brought me more joy than I've felt in awhile."

"How close do you think you are to getting him to cooperate?" Corin asked next.

Vincent let out a chuckle that definitely tinged on the evil side.

"He is definitely a stubborn one, and so is the kid, but I see a sliver of his defiance fade every time I hurt Edward. If I break the kid, I have a feeling the Colonel will break too. I will say that Edward is good at hiding how he's really doing, but he won't be able to hold it together for Mustang forever."

 ***break***

Ed's back arched and he let out a cry of anguish. It felt as if fire was flowing through his veins. The Colonel tried to slowly lower him back down.

"Is there anything I can do?" Mustang asked desperately.

Mustang had pulled more of Ed's upper body onto his lap, trying to make him as comfortable as he could. He wanted to do nothing else more than end the pain for Ed, but he didn't know what he could do for his subordinate. Ed's body writhed as it tried to find some sort of position to lessen the pain.

"Talk...to me…it will...distract...me," he managed to get out through his clenched teeth.

Mustang was taken aback by the simple request.

"Talk to you?" he echoed back.

Ed nodded. Mustang was at a loss for words. What would the teen want him to talk about?

"What do you...want...to do if...we get out...of here?" Ed asked to get him started.

"There is no if, Fullmetal. I will make sure we both get out of here. I promise you that," Mustang paused to actually think of an answer to Ed's question, "Next week, Havoc and I were supposed to go to the firing range. Has anyone taught you how to shoot?" Ed shook his head. "How about after you fully recover and feel up to it, Havoc, Hawkeye, and I will all take you and Al to the firing range? We'll teach you two how to shoot. Hawkeye's the best, and Havoc's pretty good as well. I know they both would love to teach you and Al."

The corners of Ed's mouth slightly lifted into something that would probably have been a smile if he hadn't been in so much pain.

"Sounds...fun," he got out before his face contorted in pure agony.

Mustang grabbed Ed's face in his hands, gently stroking Ed's cheek with one of his thumbs. He wiped away the sweat that started to form on Ed's forehead. After what seemed like an eternity, the teen's face relaxed a bit. He thought of what else he could say. Ed had lightened the mood for them both plenty while they had been stuck here, and he wanted to do the same for him.

"You know, you might want to tell that mechanic of yours how you feel about her one day," he teased.

The glare Ed gave him nearly caused him to laugh out loud, but he just settled for smirking down at the kid. If he laughed, he might accidentally move his subordinate and hurt him more. The glare dissolved as Ed put on a weak smirk of his own. Mustang definitely did not miss the evil glint in his eyes.

"I will...after...you tell...your First Lieutenant."

Mustang's jaw drop and he blushed. Ed looked satisfied at the state he had rendered the Colonel in.

"I think you've been around Hughes a little too much," he remarked, obviously shocked that Ed would say such a thing.

Ed snickered. Seeing the Colonel so flustered wasn't exactly something he got to see everyday. Of course, he couldn't have said that in the presence of Hawkeye. So far, he had managed not to make her angry enough with him to face one of her various firearms, and he would prefer to keep it that way.

"So are you ever going to...have kids someday, or did Al and I...scare you into not having any?" he asked next.

Mustang was pleased to see that Ed wasn't having as much trouble talking now. The drugs effects must be waning. He could tell that Ed was joking with his question, but he decided to answer it seriously. After all, his and Ed's relationship would never be the same after this.

"No, you two haven't. Quite the opposite, actually. If I could ever have kids that turn out half as great as you and your brother, then I would be one hell of a dad."

Ed couldn't help but smile up at him.

"Really?"

Mustang nodded.

"You know," he chuckled, "Hughes has dubbed you two as my surrogate sons. He never said anything in front of you because he thought you would transmute him into a statue or something."

Ed was actually able to laugh, mostly because that was more than likely how he would have reacted.

"For whatever it's worth...I think you would be...a great dad. You already...aren't doing too bad with Al and I."

Mustang smiled. He could tell that Ed truly meant it.

"Thank you. That means more to me than you think it does."

If the Colonel was honest with himself, he was looking forward to see how his relationship with Ed and Al would change. He didn't have to wait to have kids after all. He already had two sons. From what he gathered from their previous conversation, Ed certainly didn't oppose him viewing him and his brother that way. He might even feel the same. He and the rest of the team might have unofficially adopted Ed and Al into their military family, but now they _all_ could actually start acting like one.

The Colonel thought back to his team. They were already in Kanon, and he knew that they would stop at nothing until they found him and Ed. Hopefully they would be able to soon.

 **And there's Chapter 8! I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Luka and Vincent's pasts. I certainly enjoyed writing about it. I also hope you guys enjoyed the more fluffy ending to the chapter. Next chapter is going to take a bit of a darker turn, so enjoy the happiness while you guys can. I'm already trying to mentally prepare myself for writing it.**

 **Although, there are aspects to next chapter that I'm super excited about, like how Vincent now has to deal with a pissed off Luka. Anyways, until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is yet another chapter! Thank you guys so much for the response to this story! It fills my heart with so much joy when I see y'all's comments. I hope you guys enjoyed the more light-hearted ending to last chapter. This one will be more bittersweet...maybe.**

 **Warning: There will be some mature things implied, but absolutely no detail. I just felt the need to give a heads up.**

 **I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm pretty sure if I did, the characters would be confiscated from me.**

Mustang winced as he heard another sickening crack followed by a grunt of pain. He and Ed had been separated and placed back in the manacles when Corin and a couple other Drachmans came to visit them. Corin adjusted the chains connected to Mustang's manacles so he was unable to move closer to his subordinate. To both his and Ed's surprise, Vincent was not with them. Once in the manacles, Ed had been suspended above the ground. None of the Drachmans said anything. One of them had handed a crowbar to Corin, who then proceeded to hit Ed with it. Most of the blows were aimed for his already bruised ribs. Considering the number of cracks he had heard, Mustang assumed that he had broken three of Ed's ribs. To the Colonel's relief, Corin looked like he was done.

"I'm honestly surprised that you've let him go through so much, Colonel," Corin remarked. "I don't think I would ever let a subordinate of mine be subjected to this much torture."

"To be fair, you look like the kind of scum that would betray his country in a heartbeat," Ed said with a smirk on his face.

Corin narrowed his eyes at the young alchemist before lashing out with the crowbar, successfully breaking another rib. The satisfying crack resounded in his ears and he let a grin spread across his face. Ed coughed and spit some blood on the ground. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak again.

"Be quiet. That's an order, Fullmetal, and please follow it for once in your life," Mustang said in a stern tone.

He wasn't angry at Ed by any means, but he didn't want Ed's smart ass remarks to get him any more broken ribs. To his surprise, the kid didn't say anything else. The room remained silent as Vincent finally came in to join his men. His eyebrows raised when he saw what Corin had done to Ed and he laughed.

"You've really outdone yourself, Corin. I know I told you that you could have fun with the kid, but I have to say that I didn't expect this."

He walked over to Ed, who was glaring at him vehemently. When Vincent was within a couple of feet of his young captive, Ed lashed out with his automail leg, narrowly missing his head with the kick.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Edward," Vincent chided.

Ed looked worn out, as if that kick had taken everything out of him. Given what he had been put through, it probably did. Vincent moved in closer.

"Don't touch me!" Ed demanded.

Vincent ignored him. He slowly traced his fingers along Ed's ribs, then he pressed down on them. Ed let out a strangled cry as pain flared throughout his ribs.

"Is that any way to talk to me? We spent two days together, Edward. You could say that we're friends now, aren't we?" Vincent asked with that same creepy smile that hardly ever faltered.

He eased up on the pressure on Ed's ribs and brought a hand to his face while the other stroked his blood-stained hair. Mustang noticed that Ed flinched yet again as Vincent touched him and it made him hate their captor even more. Whatever he had done to Ed had caused him to be scared at just being touched. He needed to pay for that. Mustang's thoughts immediately went to all the ways he could torture this guy, like starting a fire at his feet that slowly burned its way up his body while Hawkeye used him for target practice. He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed a dark expression take over Ed's face.

"I told you not to touch me," he said in a monotonous tone.

Mustang watched as Vincent leaned in and whispered something in his subordinate's ear. Whatever he had said caused Ed to snap. He bit the hand that touched his face. Vincent cried out in pain and managed to pull his hand away, but not before Ed had bitten a chunk of skin out of his hand and spit it back in his face.

"You damn brat!" Vincent roared as he struck Ed across the face.

The Colonel's eyes widened in shock at Ed's nearly animalistic behavior. He didn't blame his subordinate for his reaction, but it surprised him. Ed had kept his composure the entire time they had been in this hell, and something made him crack. Mustang had a sinking feeling that maybe all of the torture was finally getting to him. Maybe he was starting to break. Vincent turned to address his men while nursing his hand, a fiery rage burning in his eyes.

"Get him out of here, now," Vincent ordered in an eerily calm voice.

Corin and the other two Drachmans immediately sprung into action upon hearing the order. One of them unlocked Ed from the manacles. Corin caught Ed after he was released from his restraints and held his arms in a tight grip. The young alchemist struggled violently, paying no mind to the pain he felt as he jostled his broken ribs. However, he was no match for Corin, who was able to carry him out of the room without any trouble. The other two followed him in case he would need their assistance.

"Where are you taking him?" Mustang demanded.

Vincent ignoring his question only served to infuriate him. Once his men had taken Ed away, he finally spoke.

"It seems I need to have a little talk with your subordinate, Colonel. That kind of behavior cannot go unpunished. I guess Edward will have to learn the hard way."

Vincent left the prison to follow his men. Despite the pain in his hand, he smirked to himself. He hadn't expected to have this particular opportunity to have fun with Edward, and he certainly wasn't going to let it go to waste.

 ***break***

Hawkeye, Havoc, and Hughes practically dragged themselves back toward the inn. Another day of relentlessly searching the mine, and they found nothing. Everyone else had gone to bed a while ago, but Hawkeye found that she was unable to sleep. She left the inn to get some air and clear her head when she found Havoc outside of the inn smoking. Hughes had joined them just a minute later, not realizing that they were already out there. If Hughes was honest, he really wanted to be alone, but he knew being alone probably wasn't very wise right now. In reality, none of Mustang's team was probably sleeping, but Hawkeye, Hughes, and Havoc were the only ones who had given up on trying. The trio had been walking in the night in silence, knowing that they were all worried about the same thing and knowing that there wasn't really anything any one of them could say to bring themselves any comfort. After wandering around for what could have been hours, Hughes had suggested that they return to the inn.

"First Lieutenant Hawkeye, Second Lieutenant Havoc, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," a voice rang through the silence.

All three immediately tensed when they didn't recognize the voice. Hawkeye and Havoc grabbed their guns while Hughes already had his throwing knives ready to fling at his target. They whirled around and were met with the sight of a young man with short brown hair dressed in all black. His hands were up, indicating that he wasn't going to harm them, but that did little to ease the tension between them.

"I have something you all might be interested in," the young man said again, his accent a little more noticeable.

He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out two silver objects. He bent down slightly and slid them over to the trio. Hughes bent down to pick them up while Hawkeye and Havoc kept their weapons pointed at the stranger. Hughes stared with wide eyes at the objects he held in his hands. There was only one way this man could get ahold of this things.

"Ed and Roy's state alchemist watches," he mumbled, but it was loud enough for Havoc and Hawkeye to hear.

"Where are they?" Hawkeye demanded.

The young man put a finger to his lips. He turned and walked into a dark alley, motioning for the trio to follow him. They were hesitant, but they decided to follow him. After all, this guy could have been following them all night. If he wanted to kill them, he would have tried to already. That thought didn't stop them from keeping their weapons trained on the young man, though. They followed him until they reached the back wall of the alley. There was a tense silence between all four of them as they stood in the alley. Havoc finally got the nerve to break it.

"You seem to know us, but we don't know you," he said.

"You're right, my apologies," the stranger responded, "I'm Luka."

"Given your accent, I'm going to assume that you're from Drachma?" Hughes ventured.

Luka nodded.

"So you know where Roy and Ed are," he pressed on.

Again, Luka nodded. A look what seemed to be a combination of shame and remorse crossed his face. Before anyone else could say anything, Hawkeye spoke up.

"Where are they?" she asked again, but a little less demanding, "Are they okay?"

Luka's stance shifted and he looked very uncomfortable.

"Physically, the Colonel is fine. However, Edward is…." he trailed off, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

He really didn't need to say much else. Hearing that anything at all happened to Edward made Havoc want to kill Luka on the spot, but odds were that he knew something that could help them find their fellow soldiers. A part of Hughes died on the inside. He saw what happened to Roy during Ishval first hand. If the Drachmans had been watching him like General Raven said they had, they would definitely know that torturing his best friend mentally would be their best bet at getting what they wanted. Who knows how long it would take Roy to recover from that, if he ever did. They all desperately wanted to know what was happening to the two alchemists, but there were other matters to address first. Luka took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"For whatever it's worth, I am very sorry about what's happened to Roy and Edward. I'm a medic, so my superior has been permitting me to take care of whatever injuries Edward has sustained. I do not agree with my superior on anything that he's been doing, but I didn't really have much of a choice other than to follow orders."

Hughes and Hawkeye could definitely identify with Luka there. They knew exactly what it was like to have to follow orders, no matter how horrendous they were.

"However," Luka continued, "I'm done. I don't care about orders any longer. I want you all to find them. Our base is extremely difficult to find. My superior is aware that you all have reinforcements from the south helping you search the mine, and he isn't even concerned about your military finding it."

He paused as he rolled up his sleeve. The three Amestrian soldiers could see a white bandage covering his forearm. They also noticed that blood was starting to seep through the bandage.

"I've marked where one of the passages to our base is in blood. There are various passages, but that's the best one to get all of your soldiers through. We have guards in each passageway, but they rotate every twelve hours. That's how I was able to sneak out so easily. The next rotation should be at three this afternoon. If I cause a distraction, that should further your chances of getting in with next to no casualties on your side. My superior is prepared to escape, not so much to fight. There aren't enough of us at the base to take on your team along with South City's reinforcements. Even if he does manage to escape with Roy and Edward, he will panic if your military takes him by surprise and he will probably be caught easily. This is your best chance at getting them back. I would advise that you take advantage of this opportunity. I'm not entirely sure how much more torture Roy and Edward can take."

That last sentence made chills run down everyone's spine. They wanted so desperately to believe that they might be able to find their comrades later that day, but it seemed almost too good to be true.

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Hawkeye voiced what Havoc and Hughes were also thinking.

"That's the most frustrating part for all of us. You don't know. I can try to convince you all that I genuinely want to help them, which I do because I can't stand to see my superior torture a kid, but there's always going to be that part of you that wouldn't dare trust a Drachman spy. Ultimately, it's going to be your decision on what you all do. I am just letting you know that this will be the only chance you will have for my help in getting them back. I'm leaving after tomorrow. I can't take it anymore."

Luka managed to vault himself up on the top of the back wall of the alley.

"Wait!" Hughes called. "If you're truly wanting to help us, we can talk to some of the generals. We could offer you asylum here for your cooperation with us."

Luka looked down on the three Amestrians with a smirk.

"I would like to thank you for the offer, Lieutenant Colonel, but I'm afraid I can't accept that at this time. I have my own people I need to protect first. Just please promise me that no matter what you decide to do, you all will do everything you can to prevent a war between Amestris and Drachma. So many innocent lives will be lost if my superior is successful."

Luka hurled himself over the wall. Hughes and Havoc quickly scaled the wall to see if they could find the young Drachman, but he had disappeared into the night.

 ***break***

Fear and dread completely consumed Mustang as time ticked on and his subordinate wasn't returned to their prison. He tried to keep track of how much time had passed, but he gave up after a few hours when he heard a bone-chilling scream. That scream had resonated in his mind ever since. He almost wished he was in a forced unconsciousness like the last time Ed was taken away from him, then at least his thoughts wouldn't be getting the best of him. He nearly jumped when the door slammed open.

Corin walked into the prison with Ed tucked under his arm. The Colonel could see that the tattered remains of Ed's shirt had been removed and the bandages on his back had been ripped off. The wounds from Mustang whipping him had blood steadily flowing from them again, and it made him sick. Corin carelessly dropped the teen on the ground and clamped the manacles back on his wrists. Mustang hadn't even realized that Ed was conscious until he drew his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms. A smirk grew on Corin's face.

"Aw, do you not want your boss to see Vincent's handiwork?"

Corin grabbed a fistful of Ed's hair and yanked his head up, causing a muffled yelp to come from him. Mustang's hands flew to his mouth as he took in the horrific sight. Ed's lips had been crudely sewn shut. Streams of blood flowed from the stitches. Overall, the kid looked like something straight out of a nightmare. He had dried tear stains on his face. Mustang couldn't even begin to imagine the pain that his subordinate must be in.

"Behave now, you little freak," Corin muttered as he let go of Ed's hair and left the prison.

Ed curled back in on himself, not wanting his superior to see him this way. Mustang sat in a stunned silence. He wanted to say something to comfort his subordinate, but he honestly didn't have any idea what would. Probably nothing at the moment. He didn't have much time to think before Luka entered looking absolutely furious. He didn't have his bag with him like he usually did, but he did have what looked to be a small pair of scissors and a rag. He cautiously approached Ed.

"Edward, I'm going to get those stitches out. Is that okay with you?"

Ed slowly lifted his head. After a moment of consideration, he nodded.

"This will hurt. Vincent confiscated all of my pain relievers and has someone guarding the room with most of my medical supplies, but I will try to be as gentle as I can."

Luka situated himself on the ground and pulled Ed's head onto his lap. He made quick work of getting the stitches out. Mustang could see tears falling down his subordinate's face, and he realized that a tear was streaming down his own cheek. He quickly wiped it away. He was Ed's commanding officer. He had to remain strong for him, but he was wearing down. Luka had just finished removing the stitches and was pressing a rag to Ed's mouth to try to stop the bleeding when Vincent walked back in with two other Drachmans who stopped at the door. Considering the expression that Vincent had on his face, it was obvious that he didn't approve of Luka being there and tending to Ed, but it was also apparent that the young medic didn't care.

"Don't you dare say anything, Vincent!" Luka growled.

Vincent stood dumbfounded at the hostility Luka was displaying toward him. He knew Luka didn't agree with him on next to anything, but he had never spoken to him in such a manner. He mentally shrugged, figuring that his medic was just being a little rebellious since he had messed with his medical supplies.

"I didn't authorize you to remove the stitches," he stated plainly, "I understand that you're upset with me, so there will be no repercussions for your actions. However, I must ask you to leave now."

Luka's glare didn't waver as he carefully moved Ed off his lap and got up to leave the room. Vincent sauntered over to the crank on the wall and suspended Ed above the ground yet again. The teen let out a pained grunt as his broken ribs protested the movement. As Vincent approached the abused alchemist, a predatory smile spread across his features.

"Exactly how far are you going to let me go, Colonel?" he asked.

Vincent wrapped his arms around Ed's waist from behind. He pressed his lips to the back of Ed's neck, causing him to shudder. Mustang's eyes widened as he realized what Vincent's question meant. He shook his head in denial. Vincent wouldn't go that far, would he?

"Get. Away. From. Him. Now."

It took Mustang a second to realize that he had spoken. Vincent only smirked as he nuzzled Ed's neck and let one hand trail down his side. Ed had his eyes shut, as if he was trying to block out everything Vincent was doing.

"It's fine, Colonel," Ed said, his voice breaking at the end.

"Stop!" Mustang demanded, his tone laced with a mixture of anger and desperation.

He knew where this was going and like hell he was going to let Vincent do such a thing to his subordinate.

"Relax, Mustang," Vincent chuckled, "It's not like it's the first time I've done this to him."

Mustang's blood ran cold. Ed's eyes flew open, and he could see the tears welling inside them.

"You...you…."

Mustang couldn't even think straight. His eyes unconsciously wandered to where Ed had been sitting, and there was a blood stain. Everything made sense now. Ed freaking out when they were first reunited after being separated for two days, Ed flinching when Vincent grabbed his hair, Ed demanding not to be touched...the blood...it could only mean….

"You ra…." Mustang started, but he couldn't get himself to finish the question.

Mustang's heart completely shattered as tears started flowing freely down Ed's face again.

"I'm sorry, Colonel. I tried to fight him off, but I couldn't stop it," the young alchemist sobbed.

What made things even worse was that Ed looked ashamed of himself, as if he thought it was his fault. Mustang stared off into space, his face holding no emotion. His subordinate's innocence had been ripped away from him in the worst way possible. Mustang could almost physically feel a crack in his spirit. He was brought out of his thoughts when Vincent knelt down in front of him and grabbed his face, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Do you want to know what happened those two days I spent with him? You can already make an accurate guess. I told him not to tell you, or I would leave him alone and start torturing you instead. It would be quite obvious if he did as you would either be in the near catatonic state that you're in now or you would have ripped me in half with your bare hands. I thought he might have told you when you nearly strangled me, but I guess I just didn't expect you to get so worked up over a little carving. I have to say that I very much appreciate him not saying anything because it was definitely fun being the one to break the news to you." Vincent paused as laughter seemed to possess him for a minute. He continued after he managed to compose himself. "Do you want to know what the most amazing thing is? Right before I had him brought back to you a few minutes ago, I told him to let me do it and not to fight me whatsoever, or I would force myself on you instead. He actually let me! I didn't expect him to care for you so much, but I have to say that I'm glad I was wrong there."

Realization hit Mustang like a ton of bricks. He tore himself free of Vincent's grasp and vomited. The thought of his subordinate letting himself be assaulted in such a way just so the same wouldn't happen to him made him physically ill. Especially since it wasn't just his subordinate. It was someone he was proud to consider his son. Vincent stood up, looking at Mustang with an amused expression on his face as the Colonel emptied his stomach.

"And to think, this all could have been avoided," he commented as he approached Ed again.

Ed swallowed and tried to find his voice, but tears were still streaming down his face. He never wanted the Colonel to find out about that.

"Please," he begged, "Do whatever you want to me, just don't make him watch."

Vincent smiled and shook his head. He traced his thumb over Ed's swollen and bleeding lips. Ed turned his head out of reflex.

"Our earlier rules still apply," Vincent chastised.

Ed reluctantly faced his captor. He traced a hand down Ed's toned chest and stomach. The young alchemist tried to mentally prepare himself for what was going to happen again, but a desperate cry startled both him and Vincent.

"I'LL COOPERATE!"

 **Man this chapter was difficult to write, but it's done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter...well as much as you can anyway! Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back with another chapter! Thank you all so much for the response to the last one! Just letting you guys know that I plan on wrapping up this story in the next couple of chapters. I've enjoyed writing it and I think the ending that I have planned will be interesting to say the least. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! There's some nice Parental!RoyEd stuff in the beginning.**

 **I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

"Colonel!" Ed gasped upon hearing Mustang's words.

Vincent froze, a victorious smile spreading across his face.

"What was that, Colonel Mustang? I don't think I heard you correctly."

He could hear Mustang let out a frustrated sigh. He obviously didn't want to say it again, but he wanted to make sure that nothing else happened to Ed.

"I said I would cooperate," the Colonel repeated through clenched teeth.

Vincent closed his eyes and sighed in satisfaction as he heard the Colonel's words again. After everything he had tried to break Roy Mustang, he finally did it. The look of absolute disbelief on Ed's face only made him happier. He turned from the young alchemist and walked back over to Mustang.

"I knew you would eventually see things my way," he said with a smile that made Mustang's skin crawl. He looked back at Ed. "I think Edward is having a little trouble accepting your decision. I can't really blame him. I mean everything that he's suffered through is now for nothing. Had you just cooperated in the beginning, you could have spared him a lot of pain. I'm not an unreasonable man, so I will give you two an hour alone so you can explain yourself."

Mustang's eyes narrowed at the Drachman before him.

"Not unreasonable?" he growled in a low voice so Ed couldn't hear, "You raped my subordinate, and you dare to call yourself not unreasonable?"

Vincent's smile didn't waver.

"Do you not want me to give you any time alone with him?" he asked.

He smirked when Mustang said nothing. He took out a key and unlocked the Colonel from his restraints. He lowered Ed back down to the ground before leaving the two alchemists alone. As soon as Vincent and his two men were out of the room, he rushed to his subordinate's side. Since he could get a better look at Ed's face, he saw that his lips were slightly swollen and still bleeding from being sewn shut. Ed still had tears streaming down his face, and it took Mustang a moment to realize that he did as well.

"You promised me that you wouldn't cooperate, but that's not your fault. I'm so sorry, Mustang. If I wasn't so weak, I could have fought him off. You would have never agreed to cooperate with him. It's all my fault," Ed sobbed, unable to look at his superior.

The Colonel took his face in his hands, forcing their eyes to meet.

"You listen to me, Edward Elric," Mustang began, "I have had many regrets in my life, but two of my biggest regrets are not telling you and Al how I felt about the two of you and letting you get hurt as much as you have been. I should never have let Vincent go as far as he did, and I will never be able to apologize to you enough for that or ever forgive myself." He paused and leaned forward so that his forehead was touching Ed's. "I don't know what he told you and I don't know what you're feeling right now, but I don't want you to even think for a second that you are weak or that any of this is your fault, because it's not. You are the strongest soldier I know, and I am proud to call you my son."

There was a moment where neither of them spoke, and Ed was trying to compose himself.

"Do you really mean it?" Ed whispered.

"Yes. I am proud of you beyond words, Edward. You're so strong and brave. It is an absolute honor to call you my son."

He kissed Ed's forehead and pulled him into a hug, much like he had seen Hughes do with Elicia. He was half expecting to be shoved away, and had he tried to hug Ed at any point before now, he would have been. After a moment of hesitation, Ed wrapped his arms around Mustang as well as he could, returning the hug with tears still streaming down his face. However, these tears stemmed from something other than pain.

Mustang rested his chin on top of Ed's head. It was hard to believe that the stubborn Fullmetal Alchemist was actually hugging him, but he probably needed it desperately. He didn't even want to think about how long it would take for Ed to recover from this, but he was determined to be there for him every step of the way. The two remained in the embrace, unmoving until the door eventually opened.

"Time's up, Mustang. You need to come with us," Vincent said.

Neither alchemist had even realized that the hour had already passed. Mustang reluctantly pulled away from Ed, noticing the worried look in his eyes. He pressed his lips to Ed's forehead one more time.

"I'll think of something. Everything will be okay," he assured.

Ed nodded, having complete faith in his superior. Mustang finally got up and walked out of the prison. He looked back at Ed one last time as the door was shutting. Ed's bruised and battered body along with his blood-stained hair made for an extremely haunting image, but that would serve as his motivation. He honestly had no idea what he was going to do to get them out, but he would have to think of something. He had to for Edward's sake.

 ***break***

Hughes, Havoc, and Hawkeye kept their eyes open for the blood that would mark the entrance to the base. The three had opted not to tell General Raven about their conversation with Luka. He probably would have said that it was a trap and completely dismissed it. It could be, but this was the only lead that they had to find Mustang and Ed. However, they did tell Falman, Breda, and Fuery, who were further in the mine. As a part of Mustang's team, they had every right to know and they were actually trustworthy enough to keep quiet on the matter. Hughes checked his watch. It was only just after one, so they had a couple of hours until they needed to find the passageway. The trio would meet up with the others in an hour to see if they found anything.

"Lieutenant Colonel," Hawkeye said, getting his attention.

She motioned for him to come closer to her. Once he was, he noticed the blood on the side of the wall that spread over some rocks.

"We found it," she whispered.

She wanted nothing more than to move some of the rocks and go down the passageway guns ablazing, but she had to wait. She hated waiting, especially when it came to her Colonel, but she knew she couldn't blow the best chance at getting him and Ed back. Hughes looked relieved that they had at least found it. The two glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Not only would they have to fight to get Mustang and Ed back, but they would have to help them fight whatever nightmares and demons they would be facing coming out of this. The threat of war breaking out between Drachma and Amestris didn't help matters at all. They both knew that the real battle had only just begun.

 ***break***.

"Sorry, Colonel, but this is just a safety precaution until I can be completely sure that you won't fight back," Vincent commented as he sat Mustang down in a chair and bound his hands behind it.

Honestly, that was probably smart of the Drachman. After everything that he did to Ed, he knew that he was going to be screwed if he didn't keep some form of leash on the Colonel. He had taken the Colonel to a room with nothing but a table and two chairs. He sat down across from Mustang, and Corin brought him a file. He opened it and began flipping through some of the pages.

"I'm going to start with asking just a few questions. Given what we've seen in Central, we already have an idea as to what the answers will be. All you're really doing is confirming our suspicions."

Mustang said nothing.

"All right," Vincent continued, not really expecting an answer, "Is it true that your Fuhrer rarely ever leaves Central?"

Mustang nodded. He was pretty sure everyone in Amestris knew that.

"Do you have any ideas as to what he's planning for Drachma?"

"No, Colonels don't have access to that kind of information."

"As I thought," Vincent commented as he looked more through the file, "Is it true that you're Fuhrer sent you and Edward here because two of our spies had been spotted near South City? Or did our captured spies spill any information that would lead him to send you to Kanon?"

Mustang's face, previously filled with no emotion, now expressed shock.

"I take it by the look on your face that you don't know what I'm talking about?" Vincent guessed.

Mustang shook his head.

"A few months ago, two of our spies were captured. We know that they've been interrogated, but we don't know if they've said anything or not. We are also aware that the investigations department got a call from South City about seeing two of our spies. They were executed for their carelessness. Although, I guess that worked out in our favor. A couple of days later, we got word that you and Edward were being sent to Kanon. I was wondering if our captured spies had given up crucial information, or if your Fuhrer was just curious about the sighting and sent you two to investigate. However, I see that you weren't even aware of any of that."

Mustang stared at the floor, several thoughts running through his head.

"Fuhrer Bradley knew?" he mumbled, not even realizing that he had spoken aloud.

"That he did, Colonel. It seems to make sense now that we were able to capture you and your subordinate so easily. You two couldn't have been prepared for something that you had no warning about."

Mustang felt rage coursing through his veins, however it wasn't all directed at Vincent this time. He knew that the government was corrupt, but this was a whole new low for Fuhrer Bradley. He sent him and Ed to Kanon with the knowledge that there were Drachman spies in the area. Everything that they had been through could have been prevented if they had been made aware of the threat. Vincent looked amused as he noticed Mustang was trembling with anger. He was about to ask his next question when he heard an explosion.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

He and Corin raced out of the room and toward the source of the explosion. Vincent's eyes widened when he saw smoke coming out from the storage room where he kept all of the drugs that Luka created. One of his men was lying unconscious in front of the room while there were several others that were desperately trying to put out the flames. Some of the guards immediately rushed down the hallway, abandoning their posts to assist wherever they were needed. Once most of the flames were put out, he stepped into the room to survey the damage. Next to everything in the room had been destroyed.

"I'm really sorry, sir, but this is all that we were able to salvage," one of his men said as he stepped forward.

The young man handed Vincent two vials and a few syringes. One of the vials was the drug that kept someone trapped in their worst nightmares until it wore off. The other was an extremely powerful sedative. It could keep someone unconscious for a couple of days. He would have to get Luka to replenish the entire stock that they had. The second he thought of the young medic, he realized his absence.

"Has anyone seen Luka?" Vincent asked.

No one said anything. Some shook their heads, and Vincent got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Luka was the one who caused the explosion. Just as he thought nothing could make the situation any worse, one of his guards came sprinting into the room.

"The Colonel's team and their reinforcements found one of our passageways. They're about to invade the base!" the guard gasped.

Vincent then realized Luka's intentions. He must have tipped off the Amestrians and caused the explosion so they could come get their alchemists back. He knew he had to make a decision, and he had to make one quick.

"Corin," he said, handing him the sedative and a syringe, "Give this to Edward and take him to the east end of the base. Boss told me that no matter what happens, we take the kid with us. I'll go handle the Colonel." He turned to the rest of his men. "You all know what to do. Cut off all forms of communication that they have. That should give us a head start."

He turned and ran back to the room Mustang was in. The Colonel raised an eyebrow at him as he entered the room again, as if he knew that something was going wrong with his original plan. Vincent spoke the moment he caught his breath.

"It looks like your team found our base, Colonel."

Mustang's eyes widened and a look of newfound hope spread across his face.

"It seems as if our time together is coming to an end for the time being, but don't worry. This definitely will not be the last time you see me. We will come back for you when the time is right," he continued as he got the syringe ready, "I know you're particularly familiar with this drug. I honestly don't know how long it will be in effect before it wears off. Knowing that your military is on our tail, you would be fighting us the minute it wore off, and we can't exactly afford to get caught. Besides, leaving you for your team to find will be just the distraction we need to make our escape."

Before Mustang could say anything else, Vincent tilted his head to the side and plunged the syringe into his neck. Mustang immediately felt the effects of the drug and his eyes were drooping shut. Much like the first time that he had encountered Vincent, the Drachman leaned in and whispered into his ear as consciousness began drifting away.

"Your broken subordinate belongs to us now. He'll be our human weapon by the next time you see him."

 ***break***

Luka sighed as he settled down in his seat on the train. He had managed to escape the base without being seen. Creating the explosion hadn't been easy. He had to make sure that it caused enough damage to destroy those awful drugs that he had been forced to experiment with and create as well as bring enough attention to the center of the base to distract the guards, but they were still in a mine. Had it been too big, it could have sent the mine caving in. Despite the difficulty, he was successful.

He also had a head start on the rest of the Drachmans, which was something that he desperately needed. He looked out the window as the train began its journey. He had managed to make contact with his sisters, telling them to escape and meet up with him in Creta. Once he was reunited with them, they would figure out where to go. Drachma wouldn't be safe for them ever again. They would never be able to return home. As many spies as there were in the country, Amestris probably wouldn't be safe for them either. Although, he was reconsidering the offer from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. If their safety could be guaranteed, Amestris might not be out of the question.

Part of him knew that the war between Drachma and Amestris would be inevitable. He didn't want to be a part of it, but sometimes not participating was worse. Above all things, he was a medic. He was meant to help heal people. If the Amestrian military would allow him to tend to soldiers harmed in the field, he would be fulfilling what he would consider to be his purpose in life. That was the one part of being in the Drachman military that he had been looking forward to, but that opportunity had practically been ripped away from him. He pondered the thought of joining the Amestrians. Every government is corrupt in its own way, but if there were people in it as great as Colonel Mustang, Edward, and the rest of their team, he and his sisters might have a place to go after all.

 ***break***

"Search every room!" General Raven ordered.

Adrenaline surged through Mustang's team as they infiltrated the base. Hughes, Hawkeye, and Havoc were relieved that Luka had stayed true to his word. So far, they had only run into a couple of guards in the passageway which were shot immediately. On the Amestrian side, there were no casualties. Once they had actually reached the base, they hadn't come into contact with any Drachmans. Luka was right. They had been prepared to flee instead of fight.

Mustang's team desperately searched the rooms for their missing comrades, but they hadn't found anything so far. They were beginning to wonder if the Drachmans had managed to escape with them, but they had to hold on to hope and keep looking. It was a huge base, so Ed and Mustang could be anywhere. Hughes found a room with the door partway open. He was almost hesitant to enter. He pushed open the door with his foot and almost vomited at what he saw. Strange markings covered the wall and there were two sets of manacles in the middle of the room. One of the sets was in a puddle of blood. Knowing that the blood had come from Ed made him physically sick, but he couldn't stop looking. After searching a couple more rooms and finding nothing, he was about to give up hope and pray that the others had found them. He kicked open the door to the last room in the hallway he had been ordered to search and was greeted with the sight of his best friend bound to a chair.

"Roy!" he yelled, drawing the attention of the rest of the team.

Hughes rushed in and took Mustang's face in his hands, trying to get some sort of response from him. The rest of the team followed him in just seconds later.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye gasped as she moved to untie him.

"His pulse is steady, but he's unconscious," Hughes updated.

Havoc nodded and turned to the rest of the team.

"Breda, Falman, Fuery, come with me. We still have to find Ed."

With that, the four ran out of the room to search for their youngest comrade. General Raven appeared just outside of the room.

"We need to get him out of here and to a hospital. The rest of the soldiers will search for Major Elric."

Hawkeye and Hughes nodded. Raven and Hughes each slung one of Mustang's arms around their shoulders so they could carry him out of the base, Hawkeye following close behind so she could help them if necessary. After what seemed to be an eternity, they made it out of the mine. They were stopped when the four other members of Mustang's team walked solemnly out of the mine as well as South City's reinforcements.

"Did you find Major Elric?" Raven asked, not liking the looks on their faces.

Havoc shook his head.

"No. We searched every inch of that base and all of the passageways we could find. Ed's gone."

 **And there's chapter ten! I hope you guys found it to be interesting and somewhat suspenseful. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this story! You guys are truly the best! Anyways, I hope to be updating again soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here is the next and last chapter to this story! A huge thank you to everyone for reading this story and for all the response to it! I have enjoyed writing it so much and it makes me happy to know that you all have enjoyed reading it. Writing this story has been a crazy ride. I honestly didn't even expect to write half of what I threw in, but it made writing this story all the more enjoyable. Anyways, I hope you guys are ready for this. Here goes nothing!**

 **As usual, I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. There's probably a good reason for that.**

 _A young boy dressed in all black stood before him. He almost didn't recognize the boy. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but he would know those golden eyes anywhere. He hesitantly walked toward him, but the boy took a step back with every step forward that he took._

" _Edward?" he asked, not wanting to believe it was really his subordinate._

 _Ed's lips were sewn shut. He seemed to be trying to tell him something anyway, causing blood to stream from the stitches. Suddenly, he turned around and ran away. Without even thinking, he started to chase after his subordinate. He stumbled when a spike seemingly appeared out of nowhere and nearly impaled him. He looked up to see Ed crouching down with his hands on the ground. There was a blue flash and he rolled away just in time for another spike to appear, but this time it grazed his arm._

 _This wasn't Ed. Well it was, but something was off. Ed would never hurt him, not of his own free will anyway. He quickly got to his feet and met Ed's gaze. The kid's eyes displayed no emotion. Normally he could see wisdom that grown men can only dream of attaining in those golden eyes, but they were completely blank._

" _Colonel!"_

 _He risked a glance behind him and saw Hawkeye running toward him, along with the rest of his men. He tried to yell at them to stay away, but no words came out of his mouth. He heard another clap. Several spikes shot up from the ground, impaling every one of his men. He tried to move toward his team, but it was as if his limbs were made of lead. Unable to move, he could only stare in horror as their bodies slid further down the spikes. He thought they were all dead until he saw Hawkeye slowly turn her head, blood spilling from her mouth._

" _I'm sorry," she croaked before her eyes glazed over._

 _He didn't feel anger. He didn't feel sadness. A cold numbness spread from his heart to the rest of his being. He had let his men down. He didn't keep his promise of protecting those he loved._

" _This shouldn't be too surprising to you, Colonel."_

 _The voice made his blood freeze. This wasn't just anyone, it was him. The one that he hated more than anyone in existence. He reluctantly turned toward the voice and was greeted with the sight of Vincent hugging Ed from behind._

" _How could you expect yourself to protect your entire team when you couldn't even protect your own son? It's your own fault that he turned into the monster that he is."_

 _Vincent pulled out a knife and examined it. Ed remained motionless, his eyes still completely blank._

" _Why don't I do him the favor of not having to live with the guilt of everything he's done?"_

 _He slit Ed's throat and let him fall to the ground._

"EDWARD!" Mustang screamed as he bolted upright.

He was startled to see that Hawkeye, Hughes, Falman, Havoc, Breda, and Fuery were crowded around him. He looked around and noticed that he was lying in a hospital bed. He blinked and looked at everyone, confused.

"Where am I?" he managed to ask. "And where's Fullmetal?"

Everyone glanced at each other, each one reluctant to answer. Hawkeye was the one to speak up.

"You're at a hospital in South City. You were unconscious when we found you, and we couldn't wake you up. We saw injection marks on your neck, so we knew you were given with some sort of drug. Lieutenant General Raven thought it would be best to transport you to South City. The chance that a doctor that could identify what drug you were given and help you was higher here than in Kanon. However, none of the doctors here were able to identify what it was. Since it wasn't physically hurting you, they thought the safest option would be to monitor you closely until it wore off. They were concerned that giving you something else would potentially do more harm than good."

"Where's Fullmetal?" Mustang asked yet again.

" _Your broken subordinate belongs to us now. He'll be our human weapon by the next time you see him."_

Those disturbing words echoed in his mind, but he tried not dwell on them. After all, he promised that he would get Ed out of there. He had complete faith that his team had found them both. Ed was probably just in a different room. His team was here with him because he had woken up first and the kid was just sleeping. Although, he would have thought that they would be in the same hospital room, but there was probably a good reason why they weren't. The lack of an answer was slowly starting to get on his nerves.

"Where is he? Why isn't he here with me?" he asked more forcefully.

Fuery and Falman looked extremely uneasy. The two slowly backed toward the door, conflicted with wanting to be there for their Colonel and not wanting to see his reaction.

"We're going to go find General Raven. He will want to see you now that you're awake," Fuery reasoned.

The two left, and Mustang looked each of those remaining in the eyes.

"You all found him, right?"

The four shared a sad look between them. That alone answered Mustang's question. However, he refused to believe it.

"Roy-" Hughes started, but was quickly interrupted when the Colonel grabbed his shirt and yanked him closer.

"You don't understand. Edward can't spend one more minute with those Drachmans. Please, Maes, I'm begging you. Tell me that you found him."

The Lieutenant Colonel's heart broke when he heard his best friends plea. He was already worried enough as it was for Ed, but hearing the desperation in Mustang's voice only made it worse. Ed and Al were the closest thing that Elicia had to older brothers. He had grown to love those two boys as if they were his own and he definitely knew how Mustang felt about them. Not finding Ed made him feel as if someone drove a butcher knife straight through his heart, and seeing the broken look on Mustang's face twisted it, causing him even more pain.

"I'm so sorry, Roy. We searched the entire base and didn't find him anywhere. We tried to call the soldiers at every border so they could tighten security and hopefully stop them, but the Drachmans had cut off all forms of our communication for the first twenty-four hours after we found you. All radio signals were jammed and none of the phone lines were working. Fuery worked nonstop until he could get our communication up and going again, but whatever the Drachmans did was enough to stump the poor kid for an entire day. General Raven sent the reinforcements from South City to each border to carry out the orders, but the Drachmans got a head start on us," Hughes solemnly explained.

Mustang's grip on his shirt slowly loosened, but a look of despair took over his face.

"What do you mean the first twenty-four hours? How long has it been since you found me?"

"You and Ed were missing for five days. We found you nearly three days ago, sir," Hawkeye answered him.

The Colonel looked as if he didn't believe her. It couldn't have been three days. Even if three days had passed, Vincent had mentioned that there were other bases in Amestris. There was the slight chance that they never left the country, but then he remembered what Luka had told him when he tried to escape.

" _Should you escape, my best guess is that Vincent's superior would want him transported to Drachma."_

Three days was more than enough time to get Ed out of the country and to Drachma. If Vincent and all of his men could sneak into Amestris, he was fairly sure that they could all sneak back out.

"No," Mustang whispered to himself.

This couldn't be happening. He made a promise to Ed, and he broke it. Vincent's chilling words echoed in his mind.

" _You and your little subordinate will be completely broken by the time I'm done with you."_

" _Your broken subordinate belongs to us now. He'll be our human weapon by the next time you see him."_

Mustang drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his arms, his eyes starting to tear up. Vincent was definitely a man of his word. He proved that when he was willing to do anything, even viciously ripping his subordinate's innocence from him, to follow through on his promises. What made matters worse was that he was safe with his team while Ed was stuck in his clutches. He kept his face hidden as the tears started to flow down his cheeks. He couldn't let his team see him as weak, but his shaking was a clear indication that he was crying. Hughes sat down next to his friend and pulled him into a hug.

Hawkeye, Havoc, and Breda watched the two, unsure of what to do. Mustang was such a strong leader. They wouldn't follow him if he wasn't or his intentions weren't in the right place. They were also aware that even the strongest men had emotions and would have moments of weakness, but none of them had seen Mustang ever break down aside from Hughes. If the Colonel was crying in front of them, he must have been through what could only be described as pure hell. If they knew what happened, they might be able to help him get through it, but they were all aware of the possibility that they might never know what happened to the Colonel and Ed for the five days that they were held captive together. Mustang might not talk to anyone about it that he doesn't have to. Havoc was the first of the three to make a move.

"Everything's going to be okay, Boss," Havoc said as he put a hand on his superior's shoulder, "We'll get Ed back."

Breda and Hawkeye moved in closer, Hawkeye grabbing Mustang's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze while Breda rubbed his hand up and down his back in a soothing manner. Mustang's trembling seemed like it was starting to calm a bit. Everyone's heads snapped up when a familiar clank of armor could be heard coming down the hall.

"No," Mustang gasped, "Alphonse…."

Hawkeye's eyes widened. She momentarily forgot that she called Alphonse the previous day and told him to get to South City and come to the hospital as soon as he could. She didn't see it fit to explain everything over the phone, but she knew he could definitely could tell that it had something to do with his brother. Fuery and Falman returned with Alphonse following them.

"Colonel," he said, shocked at the scene before him, "Where's my brother?"

 ***break***

"Father's not too happy about this," Envy commented as he sat on top of the Fuhrer's desk, letting his legs swing freely, "You let one of his sacrifices get captured by Drachmans."

Wrath huffed in annoyance, continuing to stare out the window.

"Don't remind me. It's not like you would have done any better. Unlike you, I have a country to look out for. I thought that sending the two strongest state alchemists after the Drachmans would be the best chance of preventing a war with Drachma, especially since they were under specific orders not to kill Flame and Fullmetal. We don't need any unnecessary war to lead to any potential sacrifices getting killed. Besides, they won't kill the kid. All we have to do is get him back by the time Father needs him."

Envy laughed, completely amused that Wrath was the one in trouble with Father for once.

"How exactly are you planning to do that? Are you expecting me to go after him now?"

Wrath smirked.

"Not yet. From what I understand, the Drachmans are merciless. If they could manage to break the kid's spirit, it will be much easier to manipulate him. Having a powerful alchemist like him on our side could definitely be beneficial."

Envy laughed yet again. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Wrath was a Homunculus since he had to put up the proper front that the Fuhrer of Amestris should have. It was good to know that he was still just as ruthless as the rest of them.

 ***break***

Mustang watched the sun as it set. He had managed to escape his First Lieutenant and get to the roof of the hospital. He loved her along with all of his men, but he had to be alone. He nearly broke down again after explaining to Alphonse that his brother was now a prisoner of Drachma. He couldn't stop thinking about Edward and what was possibly happening to him right now. Had Vincent known that the amount of the drug he had was enough to keep him out for three days, he probably would have taken him along with Ed. Then Ed wouldn't be alone. The guilt of not saving him was slowly starting to consume him. He figured he should probably return to his team, but he couldn't face them again. Not yet.

"Colonel?" a hollow voice asked.

Mustang nearly jumped out of his skin. How could he let a suit of armor sneak up on him? He really needed to be more careful.

"Hello, Alphonse," he said softly, "How did you know I would be here?"

"Everyone was searching for you, and I wanted to help. I decided to look some place where Ed would probably go if he were trying to hide," he paused and chuckled, "You two are actually a lot alike, whether you two will admit it or not."

The Colonel gave him a small smile, knowing that Al was trying to make him feel better. Just like his older brother. The younger Elric sat down next to Mustang and watched the rest of the sunset. Neither one of them said anything for the longest time. Al knew the Colonel wanted to be alone, but it wasn't safe for him to be. If the man wanted to talk, Al would be there for him.

Mustang was conflicted with Al's presence. In a way, it brought him comfort, but it also brought him guilt. Every time he looked at Al, he saw his failure of not protecting Ed. Worst of all, Al wasn't even aware of what happened to his brother while they were held captive, or what Mustang was forced to do to him. He wasn't sure if he could ever bring himself to tell the kid what occurred in that hell of a prison. The Colonel cleared his throat, interrupting the silence.

"Alphonse, I'm so sorry," he began, "It's all…."

His voice trailed off when Al put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to shift his gaze to the suit of armor.

"Colonel, you are not to blame for anything that happened. First Lieutenant Hawkeye told me the Drachmans were targeting you and Ed. You two couldn't have possibly seen yourselves getting captured as you were doing a mine inspection. I don't know what happened to you two for those five days and I know you don't want to talk about it right now so I won't make you, but none of it was your fault. Having known you for three years now, I know that you protected Ed to the best of your ability while you two were together, and I can never thank you enough for that. It isn't difficult to see that you think you failed my brother, but you didn't. You're blaming yourself just like Ed would if the situation were reversed, but I don't see you being able to blame yourself for anything. The Drachmans obviously were given some sort of orders to take my brother back to Drachma, and nothing anyone could have done would have stopped them. They were prepared and we weren't, but we can't think about what could have happened anymore. All we can do is work to try to prevent this war with Drachma and get my brother back. I have complete faith that you will figure out a way, Colonel."

Mustang stared in awe at Alphonse. He and Ed had so much maturity and wisdom, and they were so young. The Colonel felt his eyes tearing up. Edward and Alphonse Elric were two of the greatest people he had ever met. He didn't deserve to have them in his life, which made him feel beyond blessed with the fact that he did. He felt a brief pang of guilt. Ed also had complete faith in him, and that resulted in him being stuck with the Drachmans. He shook his head. Al was right. He couldn't dwell on what happened anymore. He had to start figuring out what he could do to get Edward back. He wouldn't let his sons down again.

 ***break***

Ed could hear voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. It was like hearing someone speak underwater. He willed his eyes to open, but they wouldn't obey him. He groaned and shifted around slightly, causing someone to stroke his hair in an attempt to calm him down. However, it was having the complete opposite effect. He could just tell that it wasn't Mustang. The voices started becoming clearer.

"I think he's finally starting to come around."

It took a couple of tries, but he managed to open his eyes. Vincent and someone else he didn't recognize were looming over him. He wanted to get away from them, but his limbs felt too heavy to move.

"You've done well, Vincent!" the stranger praised.

Even though he was still drugged, Ed could tell that he looked much older than Vincent, so he assumed that this was his superior. He had to suppress a shudder when he realized that it was Vincent who was stroking his hair. Where was he anyway? As if he could read his thoughts, Vincent spoke up.

"Welcome to Drachma, Edward Elric."

 **Given that this is the last chapter and there are many things left unresolved, I can proudly announce that there will be a sequel to this story! This was meant to be mostly a torture fic, so the next story will focus on the war with Drachma and the effects that this story's events will have on Roy and Ed. The sequel will be titled "War Rages On." I have enjoyed writing this story so much and I'm extremely excited to write the sequel!**

 **Just a heads up, I will not start posting the sequel for about three weeks. Unfortunately, it is the end of the semester for me, so I really need to focus on my final exams and projects. I will not be updating any of my fanfiction until after finals week, so don't think that I'm just abandoning you all because I'm not! I also won't have much time to read fanfiction for the rest of the semester, so that's kind of depressing. It just makes me look forward to summer even more!**

 **Again, I don't think words can express how grateful I am for the response this story has gotten. You guys are absolutely fantastic and it makes me happy to know that you all have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Also, just a side note, I want to write a lot of fanfiction this summer, so feel free to message me with any requests or suggestions!**

 **Until next time,**

 **alightintheshadows**


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